SW Missouri soybean farmer sets production record

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A southwest Missouri soybean farmer has set a national production record in the 2006 Missouri Soybean Association yield contest.

Kip Cullers, of Purdy, is averaging 139 bushels per acre and won the competition in the conventionally tilled field category.

Cullers planted a Pioneer brand soybean variety and used fungicide and insecticide on his crop before the record-setting yield was harvested Oct. 7.

"It points out how the yield capacity for soybeans is dramatically higher than most people believe," Missouri Soybean Association Director Dale Ludwig said in a statement.

The crop was grown in a sandy loam soil in Newton County near Stark City.

Last year, Cullers posted the second-highest corn yield in the nation in the National Corn Growers Association yield contest with 345.95 bushels per acre.

There is currently no national soybean yield contest, but his yield beats the past U.S. Department of Agriculture record.

No soybean yield has ever come close to Cullers' yield of 139 bushels per acre, according to the Missouri Soybean Association.

Cullers said attention to detail and his proactive management style helped him achieve the record. He monitors his fields closely and said good fungicide and genetics are key.

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