Staff photo by Fritz Busch Landen Berle combines soybeans with a new combine and bean head in Stark Township Thursday. The soybeans designed for early planting and harvest were planted April 24.

BROWN COUNTY — Dave Berle and his son Landen were busy harvesting soybeans in Stark Township, several miles southeast of Sleepy Eye Thursday.

“It’s kind of exciting to get harvest going. We really planted early, taking a chance on frost,” said Dave Berle.

“We’ve got a new combine and bean head harvesting early-maturity soybeans we planted April 24. Our beans are dry (11.2% moisture) and fit. We planted some early soybeans so we have a place to put hog manure. Our (manure) pits are full,” he said.

“We wanted to get an early harvesting start this year to avoid cold weather. Sometimes Mother Nature can be wicked. Our first load to Central Harvest States (CHS) in North Mankato went Wednesday night. We’ll have another field ready to harvest in a couple days,” said Dave Berle.

He drove semi trailer loads of soybeans out of the field while Landen drove the combine.

“The beans we planted have a really short season. A lot of guys usually don’t plant such a young bean early in the season, thinking planting later gets a better yield. We never did before this year,” Landen Berle said.

“Yields are good. Looking like we’ll probably average in the low 60s (bushels per acres),” Landen Berle said Wednesday.

Dave Berle said the first soybean field harvest averaged 61.5 bushels an acre, according to a CHS elevator scale ticket.

“The soybeans looked good and did well. I hope it continues,” he said.

Fall harvest is their favorite time of year.

“You get the see the year’s work. You get to see how your plans worked with Mother Nature. You get to see if you make the right decisions or not. Come November, we’re picking seed for the following year,” said Landen Berle.

Berle said he enjoys eating sweet corn boiled with butter.

“My brother and his daughters sell sweet corn in New Ulm and Sleepy Eye,” he said.

Besides farming, he operates a Harley Davidson motorcycle repair business just east of Sleepy Eye.

According to August U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics, Minnesota soybean producers averaged 49 bushels an acre, compared to 66 bushels in Illinois, 62 in Indiana, 61 bushels in Iowa, 59 in Nebraska, 53 in Wisconsin, 49 in Michigan, 47 in South Dakota and 36 in North Dakota. The national average soybean yield as 53/2 bushels/acre. That compares to 50.6 bushels an acre last year.

U.S. soybean production was 4.59 billion bushels in 2024, compared to 4.16 billion in 2023, 4.27 billion in 2022, 4.46 billion in 2021 and 4.22 billion in 2020.

As of Sept. 1, 94% of the soybean crop in the top 18 growing states reached the pod growth stage. That was up from 89% the prior week and slightly ahead of the five-year average of 93%.

The report said 65% of soybeans were in good to excellent condition. Twenty-five percent were in fair condition. Ten percent were poor to very poor.

For more information, visit www.nass.usda/gov.