PEORIA, Ill. — At an event honoring the first Illinois grower to eclipse the 100-bushel soybean yield threshold, breakout sessions were teeming with agronomists offering tips on how to produce top-yielding beans.

In one room of the Peoria Civic Center for the 2015 Illinois Soybean Summit was Jason Webster of Beck’s Hybrids, giving insight into what on-farm research has taught the Indiana company about producing high-yield soybeans. Next door, WinField Solutions’ Dr. Robert Beck led a presentation titled “Become a Master Soybean Producer: Developing the Habits of a High-Yield Soybean Grower.” Both were well attended.

“We’re going to talk about how to be students of the game,” Beck told farmers during the first of four presentations he scheduled for the March 6 event. “I don’t have one product that has all the answers, but what we will look at is a systems approach.”

Beck is a WinField Solutions regional agronomist for Illinois who oversees experimental, or “Answer,” plots the company sponsors throughout the state. WinField is the creator of the NutriSolutions 360 System, a complete plant nutrition management program. He said WinField Answer plots have produced a handful of 100-bushel or higher soybean yields during the past two harvests.

Beck said crop planning for maximum profits must include what WinField refers to as the “Art of the Seven” production practices for soybeans. The Art of the Seven hinges on choosing the right genetics.

“Take a good look at genetics. Not all varieties are the same for your operation,” he encouraged.

In addition to choosing the right genetics for soil type and yield history, growers should focus on choosing the proper traits, plant population, crop rotation, crop protection and nutrient management, he said.

The systems approach promoted by WinField is comprised of “what works, what has worked and what we think will work,” according to Beck. “Soybeans do respond to management. That’s something to take away from here that’s really critical.”

Aspects of WinField’s system approach to maximizing inputs, yields and profits includes diligent weed control (“absolutely critical,” according to Beck), regular soil fertility testing and constant monitoring of crop health, among other facets.

“We believe in fungicides, insecticides and taking a good look at new seed technologies,” offered Beck, who was formerly an agronomist with the University of Illinois at Urbana and Purdue University.

“Bob is a consummate teacher of his craft,” said Jim Donnelly, a technical agronomist with Monsanto Co. He was on hand to announce the winners of the 2014 DEKALB Soybean Yield Challenge, which also featured farmers who eclipsed the 100-bushel threshold.

The Soybean Summit’s unofficial theme of maximizing yields and surpassing the 100-bushel “barrier” was front and center beginning with a banquet the evening of March 5 honoring LaSalle County soybean grower Dan Arkels, whose yield of nearly 104 bushels per acre is the first confirmed 100-plus bushel soybean yield in state history.

The Summit concluded March 6 with a farmer roundtable and audience participation titled “It Takes a Team: Producing 100-bushel Soybeans in Illinois.” It included Arkels, agronomist Dan Davidson, George Lukach of Lukach Seed Co., Dave Callen of GRAINCO FS and Marcus Jones of StollerUSA.