10/06/2026
August would typically be too early to accurately forecast Mississippi’s soybean crop, but this year, it is a month ahead of schedule – far enough along to predict a promising harvest.
Mississippi State University Extension soybean specialist Justin Calhoun anticipates a state record-breaking yield in 2026. The previous record, 57 bushels per acre, was last reached in 2023.
Growers in the state planted about 2.3 million acres of soybeans this year. As of Aug. 17, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 66% of the state’s soybeans are in either good or excellent condition, with another 31% described as fair.
Widespread early planting helped give this year’s soybean crop a head start, Calhoun said, and timely rainfall brought about the possibility of record-breaking yields.
“The Delta soybean crops look average. What’s really going to make up the ground, I think, is the beans on the eastern side of the state,” he said. “Most of that ground that has normally been planted in May, maybe even June, got planted in late March or early April, on into that optimal window of mid-April.”
He also discussed ongoing research at MSU examining planting dates, seeding rates and replant thresholds. One study is evaluating soybean populations as low as 45,000 seeds per acre to determine how effectively modern soybean varieties can compensate for thinner stands.
“We have been overseeding soybeans, especially with some of these newer, more aggressive varieties,” Calhoun said. “The recommendation of 130,000 to 140,000 seeds per acre is a little high. In some scenarios, different tillage practices, cover crops, the more factors we throw in there, we might have to adjust some, but we’re seeing some of those extreme low seeding rates being able to fill in.”
