"Grow for the Green" Soybean Yield Contest: How Arkansas Soybean Producers Broke the 100 Bu/Ac Mark.

Since 1999, Arkansas has had a soybean yield challenge conducted under the direction of the Arkansas Soybean Association.  In 2007, the soybean yield challenge was renamed the “Grow for the Green” soybean yield challenge and an additional yield competition was introduced called the “Race for 100” soybean yield contest.  Both soybean yield competitions were financially supported by soybean check-off dollars from the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.  The “Race for 100” contest was designed to award the first Arkansas soybean producer who could produce 100 bu/a or more on a continuous five acre area in a production field.  No soybean producer achieved the 100 bu/a level until 2013, when three Arkansas soybean producers broke the 100 bu/a mark.  Again in 2014, three producers reached the 100 bu/a level, with one producers setting a new state record soybean yield of 112.012 bu/a.  Historical production data and yield trends from both yield competitions will be discussed during this paper.