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2020 soybean seed concerns

There’s concern in the Upper Midwest about the amount and quality of soybeans produced for next year’s seed supply.

Adam Spelhaug with Peterson Farms Seed says only about a quarter of the North Dakota company’s total production is in the bin.

“For us, our later maturities, a lot of those have probably been harvested. My South Dakota guys (and) some in central Minnesota I work with have samples already. A lot more than North Dakota in the Valley, the flat, heavy black ground that doesn’t drain very well.”

He tells Brownfield another problem is some soybeans are being harvested at high moisture levels.

“We can’t take them unless they’re under 14 (percent) at the maximum to be utilized for seed. And then drying, there’s really no way to dry seed without hurting vigor, germ and that sort of thing. So that in-field drying is the best, but we want our customers to get those fields off and get them harvested. That’s priority number one.”

Spelhaug says Peterson Farms Seed is making contingency plans with customers who had extra production to compensate for those struggling to finish soybean harvest.