We’re kicking things off with breaking news. Strip-tiller Alex Harrell broke his own world record with a 218-bushel soybean yield in Smithville, Ga., this week.

The irrigated soybeans were 12 bushels better than his 206-bushel yield last year. He strip-tilled through a terminated wheat cover crop on red clay soil with a Schlagel Rapid-Till, while banding a homogenized mix of N, P, K, sulfur, zinc, iron and copper. Harrell planted on 30-inch rows at a rate of 110,000 seeds per acre on March 21st with a mix of nutrients delivered both in-furrow and with a 3-by-3 system. He kept the soybeans pumped up with foliar fertility throughout the season. Rates were determined by weekly tissue tests. Alex, what was your biggest takeaway from this plot?

   “The main thing we’ve taken away from these high yield plots is how important singulation is on soybeans, not just corn. Emergence is still king in corn but singulation is more important in soybeans than it is in corn. Making sure the planter is dialed in perfectly is huge. That doesn’t cost anything but time. It’s not a product in a jug, dry fertilizer or anything like that. It’s just making sure the planter is dialed in and we’re getting proper singulation and emergence, that’s the easiest way to get free bushels.”  

 Harrell says his record-breaking friends Randy Dowdy and David Hula called to congratulate him shortly after hearing the news.

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.