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Higher wheat prices boost opportunities with double-crop soybeans

An ag economist at the University of Illinois says double-cropping soybeans with wheat has the greatest profit potential for farmers in warmer growing regions next year.

Gary Schnitkey tells Brownfield, “Wheat double-cropped soybeans is projected to be more profitable than either corn or stand-alone soybeans.”

“That’s what we’re projecting now, and actually that’s the way it has been for three out of the last five years,” he says.

Schnitkey says escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine have improved wheat prices, and planting decisions could be similar to when the conflict began in 2023.

“If we’re going that route, management is a key coming into this fall,” he says. “We’ve seen some price increases here recently that give us some optimism for the future.”

Schnitkey says wheat with double-crop soybeans could increase projected returns to $309 per acre, $174 per acre higher than corn and $105 per acre higher than just soybeans.

Researchers say a shorter growing season in central Illinois and soil productivity could change the economics of wheat-double-crop soybeans compared to southern Illinois.