DUNKIRK, Ohio — Heavy May and June rains in 2014 hurt the soybean fields on Jerry McBride’s Hardin County farm. The fields were part of an all-season Farmers’ Independent Research of Field Technologies (FIRST) test.

"Late May, early June, the beans had just popped through the ground and were a couple inches tall," McBride said. "It seemed we got every little shower that came through and it turned into an inch-and-a-half.

"In mid- to late August, when we needed rains, we went through a dry spell. It went from flood to drought all in one year. It didn’t turn out too bad, comparatively; the beans were a decent plot. What we ended up with is what we ended up with."

LG Seeds product C3555R2 topped the field with a yield of 54.1 bushels to the acre. Moisture was 15.1 percent, and the gross income was $539 per acre.

Buckeye variety PS363RR2 ranked second, yielding 51.6 bushels; moisture was at 14.9 percent, and the gross income was $514. Dairyland DSR-3838/R2Y was third in yield with 51.2 bushels to the acre. Moisture was 15 percent, and gross income was $510.

Rich Schleuning was the FIRST site manager. He commented that the plants were short, 26-33 inches tall; node spacing on the plants ranged from 0.75-1.25 inches apart with good pod set. There were some empty pods with light insect feeding.

"Bean size was large with a nice, bright color," he said. "Just like the other area farms, some ponding occurred here this summer, making crop yields a bit variable across the test."

The field had been no-till for 25 years, McBride said. The soil was sandy clay loam, well-drained and non-irrigated. The field was seeded on June 7 at a rate of 140,000 seeds to the acre with 30-inch spacing. The stand was harvested Nov. 13 with 100,100 plants to the acre.

The test average for the field was a yield of 45.9 bushels to the acre; moisture was 14.9 percent and the gross income was $457.