If you have Roundup Ready soybeans you are just wasting fuel and soil. If you are growing specialty bean than you can justify cultivation.
Your Grand Father was doing it as a weed control measure. Many of the broad leaf weed controls, of years ago, would hurt the soybeans a little. So if you could cultivate and get the canopy to shade the rows. You would yield more than if you sprayed.
Today you will not help the weed control if you are raising RR soybeans. You might even hurt the weed control because the cultivation might make new weed seeds germinate. Plus if it turns off dry you will lose moisture by cultivation.
I have raised soybeans for over forty years. Todays genetics are making the yields higher than ever before. I don"t want to disrespect your Grand Father but he was just hanging on to some thing he "All ways" did. He was not making a economic judgment.
If you want to raise your yields here are some things to try. 1) Try narrower row spacing than 30 inch. I see a 4-5 bushel yield bump with fifteen inch or narrower rows. 2) Control planting depth and spacings. This will help get a even healthy crop. 3) Control fertility and disease will help get that top little jump in yields. 4) Fine tune the variety to the soil/weather/farm. I have found some varieties that just do better on my home farm that might not be good on my other ground.
I commend any young person that want to learn and try different things. Just apply your self to the things that can move you forward not things that have fallen by the wayside because they failed the test of time.
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