Soybean Seed Availability Could Be Tight For 2017

 

Recently we heard from Jim Dunphy, NC State Soybean Specialist regarding this season’s bean crop.  While damage wasn’t as significant as originally feared after Hurricane Matthew came through, one after effect that may take a little more time to assess is seed availability for the 2017 crop:

 

“Yes, I think particularly on the popular varieties, or some of the varieties that do well in this year’s Official Variety Tests, and then become popular varieties.  I think we may well have some issues, because a lot of those seed beans are grown in-state, and whether they are in the eastern or western part of the state, they’ve had some weather issues to deal with and while the yields may be higher than we were afraid they were going to be, they may still be reduced from what we’d like to have had, or what we would have typically had with normal weather. 

 

So, we may have some seed issues, but it’s a little early to tell.  It’ll probably be late January before we get a good handle on whether we have a seed problem or not.”

 

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, many fields saw water that came from somewhere else, and with that water comes soil and silt.  Dunphy suggests not only soil testing but a nematode assay as well:

 

“With the water we often brought in some soil, so we got soil coming from unknown places, and it may be very fertile soil, or it may be very unfertile soil, and it may well be carrying nematodes.  So there’s a distinct possibility that there’s a nematode problem sitting there today that prior to the hurricane wasn’t there. And the way to find out, of course, is with a nematode assay.