GROWING 200-BUSHEL SOYBEANS

World record holder Alex Harrell shares tips on taking soybean yields to the next level.

- Adrienne Held & Natalina Sents Bausch,

On Aug. 23, 2023, Alex Harrell shattered the world soybean record with a yield of 206.7997 bushels per acre on his Smithville, Georgia, farm. The 33-year-old farms about 3,000 acres of wheat, soybeans, corn, and watermelons with his father, Rodney, in Lee and Sumter Counties, north of Albany.

Dewey Lee, a former University of Georgia agronomist of 35 years, calls Harrell an out-of-the-box thinker. Open to different crops and ideas, and a hunger to learn, the young farmer likes challenging himself and others around him, Lee says: “He’s always on that edge.”

“I’ve got to give credit where credit is due,” Harrell says. Until Randy Dowdy — who set the previous record, 190 bushels per acre in 2019 — came along, nobody associated high-yielding soybeans with Georgia. Dowdy’s achievements helped Harrell believe he could overcome the challenges of the South’s sandy, low cation exchange capacity (CEC) and low organic matter soils. “[Dowdy] gave me something to chase,” Harrell says.

Harrell has worked with Dowdy and other record-setting farmers through the Total Acre Program, and credits the group for many of the lessons he’s learned. 

Record-setting Season April 5: Soybean planting

Harrell planted 85,000 seeds per acre in 30-inch rows on April 5. The soybeans were a Group 4 indeterminate variety from Asgrow, AG48X9. 

Harrell attributes the planter as the key to high yields: “More than any product, getting a uniform stand, uniform emergence, and seed singulation,” he says. “I know that sounds pretty simple, but without a doubt, that’s the number one thing. You drive higher yields with a better stand and better emergence.”