Soybeans are starting to turn yellow as harvest season approaches, but one expert believes this might be a down year for yields. 

Landus Cooperative Field Agronomist Dan Bjorklund says soybeans do not like it when there is too much rainfall, like what happened in July. He points out that nitrogen is lost from the plant and more diseases tend to make a greater impact. Conversely, Bjorklund believes the opposite was true for soybeans in August with very little precipitation.

“And beans fill their pods in August and rainfall is always the key in August to getting good seed size in those pods. And if we don’t have good seed sizes, then it impacts yield.”

Bjorklund adds that because of these factors, he predicts most soybean fields will have between 50 and 60 bushels per acre.