Soybeans Likely to Rebound in 2023

By Elmer Heinrichs

“We’re going to see a rebound in soybean acres, I’ll say 1.3 million acres,” said Dennis Lange, the soybean and pulse crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.

Back in 2017, Manitoba farmers seeded 2.3 million acres of soybeans, which was about 25 percent of all acres seeded in the province.

But since that time, soybean acres have slid downward. Drought, dry conditions at seeding and lack of timely rains in August, cut into yields and dampened farmer enthusiasm for the legume.

Last year seeded acreage sank to 900,000, the lowest level since 2012. However, with record yields last fall, soybeans are poised for a bounce back in 2023, said Lange.

Known for his accurate predictions about soybeans in Manitoba, Lange said he feels optimistic about beans, mostly because Manitoba farmers set a yield record of 45 bushels per acre in 2022. That’s a huge improvement from recent years, like 2019 and 2021, when average yields were around 28 bu. per acre.

About soybeans in the eastern half of Manitoba, Lange said, “I’ve seen some of the yield numbers, somewhere in the 50s and I’ve heard of individual fields doing 60.”

Such yields are more typical in Iowa and southern Minnesota, not in the northern fringe of North America’s soybean growing region he noted.

Parts of eastern Manitoba set rainfall records in 2022 and soybeans thrived in the moist conditions.

Soybeans are more established in the Red River Valley and the eastern parts of Manitoba, but the crop also has a firm foothold in western Manitoba.

Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers executive director Daryl Domitruk agreed. “We had some good yields in soybeans and some quite good yields in dry beans and some variable, but respectable yields in peas,” he said.

Strong market prices and the reduced need for highpriced fertilizer for pulse crops created more demand for soybeans and pulses, said Domitruk.

Lange expects dry bean acres to remain quite level at about 115,000 acres with pea acres steady at 110,000 acres, popular in farm rotations because of the nitrogen it leaves behind. But the crop faces competition from strong canola and wheat prices.