MFA members had a good showing in the Missouri Soybean Association's yield contest again this year.

For the second year in a row, MFA members using MFA seed topped the list in the Missouri Soybean Association's annual yield contest.

"We're excited about our member/customers competing again this year," said Ron Utterback, MFA vice president of Seed, Farm Supply and Crop Protection. "MFA MorSoys have always been excellent producers in MU field trials and field plots. It is nice to get the recognition." The 2000 winners proved that good yields showed up across many parts of the state.

Top honors went to Greg Wommack of Silex, Mo. Wommack won first place in the conventional-till category with a yield of 84.40 bushels per acre. He planted MorSoy RT3928 beans in the rolling terraced ground near his home. Winning the contest earned him a $3,000 check from MFA's Seed division.

He said it was a combination of perfectly timed rains, fertility and good soybean genetics.

"We've been building to this for years. We've been working on the fertility as well as the top and subsoil pH and trace minerals," said Wommack. "I was impressed with that bean. I had plants with 379 pods on them. Simply amazing. As for the weather, it was the best drought we've ever had."

The Weber Brothers (Jim, Charles and George) of Warrenton, Mo., were not far behind. They received third place in the conventional-till division of the competition with 64 bushels per acre. The Webers are not new to the competition. They won first in the category in 1999 and were featured in the March 2000 issue of Today's Farmer. This win earned the brothers a $1,750 check from MFA's Seed division.

The Webers credit the win to hard work, good seed, nuts-and-bolts fertility and the good luck of timely rains. They farm 1,800 acres in St. Charles County.

"We tried some group 4 MorSoys this time, and they grew quickly," said Jim Weber. "We would have even done better if we had just had a bit of rain in that hot August."

The third place MFA participants were Phil and Chris Seipel of Ravenwood, Mo. The Seipels won the spot with 59.53 bushels per acre, which earned them a check for $500 from the MFA Seed division and ninth place in the association's no-till category. Winning isn't new to the Seipels either. Last year they placed seventh with 62.81 bushels.

They planted MFA MorSoy 3386 in their silt loam river-bottom land in northwest Missouri. The seed was planted in a no-till field at 220,000 seed population. They also share a bit of the credit with the crew at the Conception Junction MFA Agri Services Center who helped them set up the plot, measure and take care of weed control in the field.

The 2001 contest details will be announced soon. For more information, contact the Missouri Soybean Association at (800) 622-3261, www.mosoy.org or contact your nearby MFA agri services center.