GREENVILLE, Ohio — NK Brand seed variety S35-C3 topped a 2015 soybean harvest report on John Smith’s farm in Darke County. The soybeans yielded 71.4 bushels to the acre, with 11 percent moisture and a gross income of $607 per acre.

Farmers Independent Research of Seed Technologies (FIRST) of Illinois conducted the test. Rich Schleuning was its site manager.

Pioneer product P33T72R came in a close second with 70.8 bushels to the acre, 10.3 percent moisture, and a gross income of $602. In third was Ebberts variety 2324RR2, yielding 69.6 bushels,11 percent moisture and a gross income of $592.

The test average yield was 65.9 bushels, 10.9 percent moisture, and a gross income of $560 to the acre (see chart at right).

FIRST test locations are selected to represent the geographic diversity within a region. Ideal sites have uniform, well-drained soils where farmer hosts use standard production practices for the area. Typically, all tests at a location are conducted adjacent to each other to minimize yield variance between tests.

Seed companies and seed distributors are invited to submit their best soybean products within specified test maturity limits to desired test regions. Products are replicated three times per test and grouped in blocks from front to back and side to side. This method provides more precision in yield measurement and flexibility, should a disruptive event (such as standing water) require the elimination of non-uniform test areas.

On Smith’s field, the previous crop was corn; he used conventional with fall tillage. The soil was a silty loam, moderately drained and non-irrigated. The beans were planted on May 22 at a rate of 150,000 per acre with 30-inch spacing. The crop was harvested on Oct. 10.

Schleuning said the test site monthly rainfall totals, in inches, with departure from the 30-year average shown in parentheses, were: May, 3.4 (-0.9), June 8.5 (4.3), July 6.3 (2.5), August 2.3 (-1.3) and September 1.8 (-0.8).