MISSOURI SOYBEAN PRODUCER WINS
MSA YIELD CONTEST
AND BREAKS WORLD RECORD
Kip Cullers sets record with 139 bushel
yield
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Nov.14, 2006 – Kip Cullers,
Purdy, Mo., has established a new world soybean production record. Averaging
139.39 bushels
per acre, Cullers is the winner of the irrigated category of the 2006
Missouri Soybean Association (MSA) yield contest. He accomplished this
by planting Pioneer® soybean variety 94M80 on an irrigated and conventionally-tilled
field.“
The exciting thing about this world record is that it points out how
the yield capacity for soybeans is dramatically higher than most people
believe,” said Dale R. Ludwig, MSA executive director/CEO. “Therefore,
this causes us to pay greater attention to capturing higher yields by
focusing on every aspect of production management.”
Cullers utilized BASF Headline® fungicide and Syngenta Warrior® insecticide
on his soybeans during the growing season as instructed on the product
labels.
The record-setting yield was harvested Oct. 7, 2006. Cullers’ weigh
check was witnessed and verified by a third-party, MSA-approved official.
The award-winning crop was grown in a sandy loam soil in Newton County
near Stark City, Mo. The seed populations used on the field were close
to 300,000 with about 245,000 plants in the final stand. The soybean
plants averaged approximately 120 pods per plant.
This is the first year Cullers has entered the MSA soybean yield contest.
Last year, he posted the second-highest corn yield in the nation in the
National Corn Growers Association yield contest with 345.95 bushels per
acre. There is currently no national soybean yield contest; but according
to past USDA record, no soybean yield has ever come close to Cullers’ yield
of 139 bushels per acre.
Seed genetics foundation to success
Cullers’ attention to detail and proactive management style helped him
achieve this yield. He monitors his fields closely to check for production
challenges, such as disease and insects. He says a good fungicide program is
critical to growing quality crops, as are good genetics.
“ During two decades of farming, I’ve come to realize that starting
with great yield potential through good genetics is key,” says Cullers. “We
build from there by making sure our plant populations are in the right range
for our rich, red soils.”
Cullers co-owns and operates a diversified farm, K&K Farms, located southeast
of Joplin, Mo. Cullers has been involved in farming for more than 20 years,
owning or managing farms in Newton and Barry counties in Missouri. He manages
more than 5,000 acres of corn, soybeans, green beans and greens—spinach,
collard, kale, mustard and turnips. The farming operation is located in Missouri’s
fertile Newtonia red soil. K&K Farms also includes beef, hay and poultry.
Cullers and his wife, Michelle, have two sons, Noah and Naaman.
MSA is a membership organization comprised of more than 1,700 farmers from
across the state. The purpose of MSA is to communicate challenges facing
farmers and rural Missouri to legislators at both the state and national
level to increase
profitability for Missouri soybean farmers. MSA is directed by a volunteer
board of 16 farmer leaders.
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