South Dakota soybean harvest faces delays and mixed yields

By Scout Nelson

South Dakota’s 2024 soybean growing season presented challenges for many farmers, with planting delays affecting yield and quality.

A director from the South Dakota Soybean Association shared insights on how a prolonged planting period shaped the season’s outcomes, as well as the cooperative benefits of surplus rail capacity for soybean transport.

“Overall, it was a challenging year,” he said. Due to adverse spring weather, soybean planting didn’t begin until late April and stretched into late June.

 Typically, planting in South Dakota is completed within ten days, but wet conditions led to start-and-stop cycles that extended the process to nearly two months. This delay caused quality and yield variations across the crop.

The early-planted soybeans showed promise, producing average to above-average yields. “Initially, it looked like it would be a great year,” he explained. However, as harvest progressed, the later-planted soybeans showed signs of weather impacts, with some areas affected by excessive moisture during the growing season. The crops from these fields yielded lower-than-expected results compared to the earlier planted sections.

As a board member for a local elevator cooperative, he highlighted how delayed planting influenced soybean transportation needs. The cooperative, which operates multiple elevators, had already booked freight up to 18 months in advance to ensure regular transportation to export points in the Pacific Northwest (PNW).

However, reduced production this season created an unexpected advantage. With surplus rail cars available, the cooperative was able to sell unused transportation slots on the market, creating additional revenue.

“About 90 percent of our soybeans are transported to the PNW, so securing freight is crucial to ensuring timely delivery,” he noted. “With this season’s reduced yield, we could sell some surplus rail cars, which turned out well for the cooperative.”

For many South Dakota soybean farmers, securing transportation well in advance ensures export efficiency. This year’s unexpected reduction in rail usage became a benefit, offsetting some of the challenges faced in the fields.

Further insights and conversations on South Dakota’s soybean season and transportation logistics will be available in an upcoming episode of the Soybean Pod, a podcast provided by the South Dakota Soybean Association.

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