With soybean harvest starting, many farmers are finding soybeans are dryer than they expected. Several leaves are still on the plants, yet the grain moisture is quite low. This low grain moisture is due to the combination of warmer than normal temperatures, low-to-no rainfall over the past three weeks, and low humidity levels. However, this is not a trend unique to 2024.  Anytime we have a dry start to September, I have farmers asking how many bushels they lose by selling dry soybeans.

When we sell soybeans, we also sell the water inside the seeds. The industry has agreed 13 percent is the target moisture for selling soybeans. If the moisture is above 13 percent, the buyer may apply a discount to every bushel. When moistures are below 13 percent, the farmer is missing out on weight they could be selling. Achieving exactly 13 percent moisture on every load out of the field is not likely, nor realistic, given that soybean moisture fluctuates greatly during the day.

Here are the basics:  

Harvesting at 12 percent moisture is a 1.14 percent yield loss

11 percent moisture is a 2.25 percent yield loss

10 percent moisture is a 3.3 percent yield loss

9 percent moisture is a 4.4 percent yield loss

8 percent moisture is a 5.43 percent yield loss

If we use 75 bushels as a starting yield, then:

12 percent moisture would be 0.86 bushel loss

11 percent moisture would be 1.68 bushel loss

10 percent moisture would be 2.4 bushel loss

9 percent moisture would be 3.3 bushel loss

8 percent moisture would be 4.0 bushel loss

With no rain in the current forecast, there may not be much relief from harvesting dry soybeans. Therefore, consider starting soybean harvest earlier in the morning than you normally would, so the (little) dew might rewet the pods and add some moisture back to the soybeans. Another alternative would be to store the soybeans in a bin and try to add moisture back during cool, humid days this fall or winter, but this practice can take time and patience to achieve desired results.

For an in-depth look at the economic impact of dry soybeans, read this article from the University of Nebraska or this piece from North Dakota State University on factors to consider when conditioning overly dry soybeans.