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Soybean growers are committed to conservation

Soybean farmers are committed to conservation and have a desire to implement more practices, according to a new study released by the American Soybean Association.

Brad Doyle, ASA secretary and an Arkansas farmer, says one out of three farmers surveyed already have conservation practices in place on their farm.

“Whether it be because they were in a designated watershed or they have wetlands on their farm or they were required to have buffers,” he says.

The survey also showed that 73 percent of farmers would implement more measures if they thought it would be profitable.

“If there was a profit to be made or a return, a net positive return, then that would certainly be a plus and we would have more participation in it,” he says.

He says farmers want to implement practices to improve the soil, prevent runoff, and leave the land better than they found it. He implements some of these practices on his own farm.

“We have a 100-acre reservoir and we are able to catch all the runoff on our main farm and then we can pump all of that water back into the reservoir and hold that water for future irrigation use,” he says.  

Doyle says ASA wants to help soybean farmers bring conservation practices to their farms. But, he says they don’t want to recommend something that every farmer must implement because there is no one-size-fits-all conservation practice.

The survey also found that growers have, on average, 14 conservation practices in place and spend more than $15,000 each year on these practices.

With support from the Walton Family Foundation, ASA conducted four focus groups and a survey of members in 13 states surrounding the Mississippi River basin. Data was collected by Millennium Research Inc. from December 2018 to July 2019.

Audio: Brad Doyle, American Soybean Association

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