Photo by Steven Brown on Unsplash
By Wendell Joyce
Full disclosure as I begin to pen this article about my adventures growing organic soybeans: I am a lifetime farmer, but only 10 years’ experience attempting to grow so-called “cash crops”. Previously I was a dairy and beef producer, although I try hard to erase the memories of the latter enterprise (BSE trauma). We farm on a modest acreage in Oxford Mills, 175 acres of good soil, mostly loam with modest clay content.
Soil-water management
Prior to beginning our cash crop adventure, we systematically drained all our fields: an investment, in hindsight, we should have done on day one, when we bought the farm 25 years ago. This last point is where I will begin to relay some of the lessons learned through painful experience, and that gleaned from fellow organic farmers.
A number of years ago I participated in a field trip to several outstanding organic farms in Quebec. A message delivered by one of the host farmers stuck with me. He emphatically stated that properly drained fields are a prerequisite to organic cash crop production. His message was “if you are not tile- drained don’t waste your time. You may pull it off in a given year if Mother Nature is kind, but you will fail most years.” I totally agree.
Farming as self-sufficiently as possible
Like many smaller acreage farmers, we make do with a modest line of equipment. We perform all our own field operations, from tillage, to planting, to harvest. Relying on custom work for organic crop farming is a challenge. Our soybeans are solid-seeded using a Great Plains no-till drill into a conventionally tilled seedbed: typically disked, levelled with a field cultivator, and then rolled prior to planting. We have found that pulling the packer behind the cultivator leaves a smoother seedbed, crumbles the bigger clods of soil, and presses down any small stones that could come back to haunt us in later operations. We do not own a conventional planter or a row crop cultivator, and rely on rapid emergence, crop canopy closure, and early weed suppression using an Einboch tine weeder.
Our weed control plan
As the expression goes, “timing is everything,” and that has never been more true than with field operations in organic cash cropping systems. Which brings me to the next points: crop establishment and early season weed control.
Ideally, planting should be timed before a gentle soaking rain, into warm soil, guaranteeing a rapid and uniform emergence. I write this tongue in cheek. The planting date is often a compromise and is more about getting it done when we can. We do strive to work the seedbed just prior to planting to remove germinating weed seedlings and follow up pre-emergence with one or even two passes of the tine weeder. I cannot over-emphasize how important this pre-emergent pass is. Ideally, it would be done as late as possible without damaging or uprooting germinating soy seeds.
As the beans emerge you enter a window when tine weeding is too risky, and so it is paused until the plants are well established with a trifoliate leaf. We then typically resume tine weeding with 2 or 3 additional passes until the canopy closes. Good seedbed preparation and careful planting help ensure consistent uniform seed placement, supporting even emergence. My rule of thumb is that if, when you are sitting on the tractor tine weeding looking down, the weeds are clearly visible with well-formed leaves, you are later than ideal for good weed control.
Photo by Meredith Petrick on Unsplash
Another option we have used with some success is planting into a rye crop and crimping this cereal to provide a weed suppressing mulch. I am convinced this can work as a management strategy. A few key points to ensure success is to start with a full and uniform stand of rye. A thin stand will not provide adequate weed suppression. We crimp the rye when it is in the pollen stage to ensure adequate breakage of the stocks, so as to terminate the crop and not allow for recovery and further growth.
The major advantage of this system is that it can alleviate some of the timing constraints for mechanical weed control, particularly in a wet season. But it can also result in a delay in planting until there is sufficient growth of the rye, and in the case of a dry spell, the rye may use up scarce moisture, affecting establishment and growth of the newly planted soy crop.
To ensure a full stand, and allow for some losses due to mechanical weed control, most organic soy growers will typically plant at least the highest recommended seed rate for conventional beans and often 10-20% more. We always over-inoculate, but that is more a personal preference. I view that as cheap insurance.
Growing season issues
In our system, when the crop has a closed canopy it is on its own. We wait and watch until harvest. We have had few problems with insects and disease pressure to date. A good rotation and a healthy population of natural predators go a long way to supporting a healthy crop.
We have used some organic approved seed box additives in the past, but I cannot comment on benefits, as we treated the whole field, leaving no untreated check strips. My only comment is that the whole field of biologics is advancing quickly, holds promise, and I would recommend that growers have a look at emerging products, but check the science behind the claims.
Harvesting the crop
Our approach to harvest will surprise some readers. As mentioned earlier, we have our own combine for harvest. This is not an easy decision, as a combine is absolutely the worst financial ‘investment’ a small -scale farmer will make. However, the reality is that obtaining reliable custom combining services is a big challenge in many local areas. Fewer harvest acres, harvest timing, machine clean-out to organic standards, weedy fields, and novel crops discourage custom operators from serving organic growers. If new organic farmers think organics will save them operating costs think again. It requires more specialized tools than conventional plant-and-spray farming.
Despite all our best efforts there have always been weeds present in soybean stands at harvest, ranging from light to out-of-control infestations. An unreliable and frustrating option is to wait for a heavy killing frost to knock down the weeds, which can also mean delaying harvest well beyond the ideal time. It has now become our standard procedure to swath all beans prior to combining to get at least partial dry down on the weedy material prior to combining. An experienced conventional farmer from Renfrew County gave me this management tip and it has been a game-changer. Swathing losses are minimal and stress on the combine and the operator are greatly reduced. Keeping the harvest on schedule provides better timing if the rotation calls for winter wheat after the soybean crop. The swather is also used to cut cereal crops and buckwheat.
Summing up
Photo by Thomas Kinto on Unsplash
A few more general points and observations in closing. The advantage of the conventional Roundup Ready cropping system is that the crop can be harvested, trucked and delivered anywhere, any day, with few restrictions. We do not have that luxury in organics. We do not have on-farm storage and drying due to our small crop volume, and that has been a handicap in some seasons and for certain crops. Plan your harvest and delivery activities to avoid stress. If your budget allows, on-farm storage with good aeration, or drying, will make life less stressful.
We make use of crop insurance and the Ontario Risk Management Program to mitigate part of the risk inherent in cropping. Some organic farmers have told me that being organic is their insurance, a naïve and somewhat arrogant attitude, in my opinion. To my knowledge, frost and hail do not differentiate between organic and conventional crops.
Despite all the challenges, organic soybean production can be a satisfying and rewarding crop. The soybean is a remarkably resilient and adaptable plant, much like the farmers growing them! There are many excellent sources of information available. Conversations with fellow growers, North-East SARE (USA) and Rodale are some of my go-to sources. Here’s to a great 2026 crop, few weeds, high yields and good prices. Hope springs eternal.
Wendell Joyce
Oxford Mills
wendell.s.joyce@gmail.com