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Wisconsin research to study soybeans on soybeans

A soybean researcher says the potential for a huge crush market is forcing his team to study soybeans planted after soybeans.

Shawn Conley with the University of Wisconsin says normally, his advice is don’t do it because of the increased disease risks and other challenges but Conley says the crop rotations used now might not meet the 70-million-bushel demand of the planned soybean crushing facility near Evansville, in southern Wisconsin. “In an average year, we grow somewhere around 105-110 million bushels, so roughly, that one facility alone would take about 70% of our production so just based on logistics and based on storage and delivery, there’s probably going to be some demand for ‘how do we best manage it’ instead of me telling people ‘don’t do it.’”

Conley says 2025 is year number two for this study, and they will be looking at insect pressures, weeds, and fertility-related issues on second-year soybeans.

Conley says the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board is also funding continued research into soybean nitrogen, cover crops to reduce weed pressure, and reaching the 100 bushels per acre goal.