Thursday, July 28, 2011

Counting Purple Soybean Flowers


I got lost hunting for fields this morning so I had to call LuAnn and Google a map for me. I was very near where I wanted to be but after many years of scouting that area I forgot exactly where it was.

No I don't use Street Pilot for scouting. I usually get copies of aerial maps with the field circled or highlighted and you hope they put the county roads on there so you can figure out where to go.

The primary job is to count soybean flowers and make sure they are all the same variety by description. This variety has purple flowers and tawny pubescence or reddish brown plant hairs in common language.

I was jealous of these non GMO beans but they looked like the ones I raised last year. They were dark black green, fairly tall but not too tall and loaded with flowers. The farmer had good weed control too for all the resistant weeds we have. His chemical program sure worked.

I hope they do better than mine did but they are related to the bean I had last year. That variety shucked all its pods in the heat and drought and the stems were blank 6 to 12 inches off the ground. I was not impressed with the yield.

That's the trouble with non GMO's today, most of the breeding investment is going to GMO's which farmers plant most. It's hard to find a good adapted variety that competes with the myriad of RR and LL varieties available.

I had mentioned to a chemical supplier the concern of glyphosate on soil and he sent me an email he received this morning pointing out everything I had mentioned to him and more. I have encouraged the National NoTill Conference to get some good speakers on the subject as there is a lot of confusion and unknowing out there that needs to be cleared up.

I was in a field yesterday that must have been sprayed with insecticide all season. It had the least bug holes in it I ever remember seeing. There was hardly a hole in a leaf in the whole field. If he didn't spray, he is really doing something right!

We are in our 12th consecutive day above 90 degrees and another 7 predicted which will more than break the record. We had so many last year I lost count. Cincinnati is saying 17 in a row is the record and we usually average 23? for the year? I need to check that out, my memory fails me if I don't take notes and who takes notes during the weather at lunch.

I don't know about you but I am tired of breaking records. It's been 7 years since our record breaking yields of 2004. I could sure use some more of that.

Keep cool,

Ed

8 comments:

  1. Don't the cooperatives in your area help develop non-GMO varieties adapted to your local conditions?
    They should contract a few local farmers just for seed production. Such varieties grown year after year in your own soil and climate may yield less in optimum conditions, but they will fare better overall.

    I know it's not compatible with the crop insurance mentality, but then many people grow non-GMO because they don't share this big AG mentality.

    Talking about soy, most of it is grown for its protein content in Asia, not just for oil. Are there any equivalent variety in the U.S. that are also grown for food? I was looking at importing a textured soy protein machine from China to market organic TSP, which is currently unaffordable in the U.S. at about $15/lb!

    (ignore if double-posted, blogspot didn't say if it was posted or moderated.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Chimel,

    I have not pursued the local bean concept except to work through Ohio Seed to scout and recommend the best varieties I see. Ohio is blessed with about as good a program as any in the nation but the money isn't there, it's in GMO soybeans. Public and even private seed breeding can't get enough money to really pursue this like I think they could and should. You bring up a good point though, it could be done.

    I have received up to $2 premium per bushel for acceptable high protein soybeans for food but I can make as much money with LL soybeans without near the hassle of chemical program and identity preserved.

    The big money is in GMO as most of the world doesn't care. That could change if the glyphosate and soil issue gets rampant.

    ReplyDelete
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