Clemson University agronomic crops researcher and assistant professor Pawel Wiatrak pushes his hat back a notch and in his best Polish-American Southern brogue puts his message in terms easily understood by the 200 or so farmers attending a field day at Florence, S.C.'s PeeDee Agricultural Research Center.

"Do you want to make more money growing soybeans," he asks? "If so, I'll tell you how you can do it." And he does, offering growers research-proven, money-making seeding rate, timing of planting, and varietal information.

Statewide, South Carolina farmers averaged only 23 bushels of soybeans per acre last year - the lowest in the Southeast, and too low under any economic conditions, says Wiatrak. With beans consistently selling in the $10-13 per bushel range, low yields can cost growers real money, he says,

"In South Carolina, Group V and VI varieties offer top yield performance when full-season planting occurs from May 1 until June 10. Hitting a 40-day window shouldn't be too difficult, but getting the timing right is only part of the solution to low yields."

Read More: Southeast Farm Press

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