Soybean Core Block: Collaborating with Farmers to Screen High Yielding Varieties

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1,475 Louisiana soybean farmers¹ harvest 1.07 million acres² annually.
The average gross farm value of Louisiana soybean is $642.8 million.²
Rising input cost and environmental stresses create challenges for farmers to be profitable and sustainable.
Collaboration between Louisiana farmers and the LSU AgCenter helps identify soybean varieties with high yielding potential and stability.
On-farm variety trials are established to screen varieties for yield performance and stability in different varieties in each region of Louisiana.

Previous five-year (2020-2024) trial results collected by an average of 16 farmers per year demonstrated Louisiana soybean farmers could have:

Increased yield from 3 bu/A to 6 bu/A by selecting the highest yielding and most stable varieties for their farm.
Increased their profit by $36-$72 per acre.
Increased gross farm value of Louisiana soybean by $39-$77 million annually.

The results are disseminated through:

LSU AgCenter Soybean Variety Yields & Production Practices, which is an annual publication discussing production practices and results from Soybean Core Block and Official Soybean Variety Trials.
On-farm visits
Parish production meetings
Louisiana Farm Bureau News
LSU AgCenter Facebook
Delta Farm Press (national web newsletter)
Soybean South (national web newsletter)
Science for Success (national group of soybean specialist) X
LSU AgCenter X
Moseley X
Remind texting application

Statewide variety testing to evaluate performance in actual farmers’ environments
On-farm visits to discuss the trials and disseminate research-based information
Enhanced awareness of independent variety testing
Increased ability to select profitable varieties