A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 8, 1986 State Soybean Contest Winner Uses Experience (Continued from Page A 1) “We had a nice stand and I saw from the very beginning that it was off to a good start,” die Marietta crop and cattle fanner noted. That included an ideally prepared seedbed. But the biggest factor in making good yields was “the weather that the Good Lord sent for us." Hess said, “We’ve been fortu nate the last number of years to have decent growing weather here. We’ve had fairly ideal growing conditions. The weather is the final determining factor.” At the suggestion of his seed dealer, Hess used land that was previously in com to grow the award-winning crap. He planted Asgrow A 4045. He keeps the craps in good rota tion, from barley to soybeans to com, and soil tests regularly. In all, Hess manages about 16S acres of tillable land on the home farm and rents additional acreage. In all, he grows 220 acres of com, 35 acres of barley, and SO acres of soybeans. With the com, he maintains 350 head of predominantly Angus steers. The barley is fed to the cattle and the soybeans are cash cropped. In all, he grows about 50 acres of soybeans. Some acreage is double Gandy Has Positive Displacement! Gandy Company introduces a new positive displacement metering system for new and existing Gandy row crop granular applicators Ground driven system adjusts rates to match field speed Unit also is available for hydraulic motor drive or electric motor operation This year, stop wasting chemical Put the Gandy positive displacement metering system to work on your farm See your dealer today l Or call us at 800-443-2476 572 Industrial Dr , Lewisbcrry, PA 17339 (717) 938-5100 • FAX (717) 938-8769 IT'S GANDY Machinery GENERATORS Sales ★ Service ★ Rentals * Complete Generator Systems * PTO * Portables * 2-1600 KW “We Service It If You Have It And Sell It If You Need It" 34 W. Mohler Church Rd. Ephrata, PA 17522 Tel: 717-738-0300 Fax: 717-738-4329 cropped after barley (yields on the double-cropped soybeans in 1995 topped about 49 bushels per acre.) The 7.5 acres with the winning soybeans will be no-tilled into com this year. The soybean ground is chisel plowed in the fall whenever possi ble. The ground is then worked in the spring with a field cultivator before planting. (The soybean ground receives steer manure as the only form of fertilizer.) The winning field was planted right after the com went in. on May 11 of last year. Hess prepares a very good seedbed and uses 30-inch rows to plant the seeds from 'A inch to I'A -inch deep, depending on the weather, mois ture levels, and heat units. “If there’s good moisture and plenty of heat, I will lay the seed right under the ground surface,” he said. “If the moisture is lacking a little bit, then I’ll plant a little deeper.” Hess uses a soybean meter on the back of the 30-inch planter. Soybeans are mixed with an ino cidant and planted at the rate of 180,000 per acre. Hess uses a postemergence her bicide treatment of Pursuit and Pinnacle about 20-25 days after planting. Occasionally. Hess uses Distributed Bv a field cultivator to work any weeds. Hess believes in keeping the ground open and aerated until it canopies, generally about mid- July. Harvest conditions were excel lent this year, according to the soy bean grower. “The soybeans came off at 11.6 percent moisture,” -he said. “We had just excellent dry ing conditions for harvest.” Harvest was the first week of October. With the variety, he has been able to average about 70 bushels plus. His dealer suggested he enter the contest because of the good yields. Contrary to what he sometimes hears about late-planted soybeans (switching to narrower rows of IS or 6 inches), Hess plants his double-cropped beans also on 30-inch rows. Hess attributes the good yields to “good, productive, Class 1 soils with a high state of fertility.” He doesn’t use a starter fertilizer with the soybeans and only rarely uses a starter fertilizer for com. The key to good soybean yields is to have acceptable stands and weed control. It’s a matter of keep ing careful records and "trying to control as many variables that I have control over," he said. All through the growing season. Dwight Hess concentrates on the details of his 265-acre farm, of which 50 acres are in soybeans. His painstaking attention to details and careful land management netted him 70.4 bushele per acre, placing him first In the Pennsyl vania Soybsan Yield Contest for 1995. Hess keeps a close eye on all the season with wife Cheryl and sons crops he’s growing, but doesn’t Mike. 16 and Scott, 9. Mike helps actually walk the field on asc he- with the fieldwork, duled basis. Hess vowed to keep things Hess has help throughout the (Turn to Pago A2B)
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