2025 soybean crop in all growth stages across state

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi’s soybean crop is literally all over the place in terms of development, but nearly all of it looks good.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture -- National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates Mississippi will have 2.05 million acres of soybeans. As of July 27, USDA estimated 59% of the crop was in good or excellent condition. Another 27% was rated fair, with just 4% in poor condition.

But those numbers do not describe what is actually happening in the field.

Justin Calhoun, soybean specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the only blanket statement that can be made about the state’s 2025 soybean crop is that it is in the field.

“I don’t mean that to be facetious; it’s just the only broad truth we can use,” Calhoun said. “In the past week, I have seen soybeans being planted, and I have seen the first soybeans of the year being harvested. Most of the crop across the state is in mid- to late-reproductive growth stages.”

Despite frequent, heavy rain, Calhoun said that most of the Delta counties got their soybeans planted before the end of May. The majority of the Hill region was planted in June, as those acres were finally dry enough to plant.

“Most of the acres that were waiting all spring for planting got covered before June,” he said. “July probably saw 5% or less of the total crop either replanted or planted for the first time in areas that were extremely wet early in the season.

“Rain really dragged out the planting season,” Calhoun said. “We were set back by a lot of early season rain and cloudy conditions.”

These excessively wet conditions set the stage for a short-statured crop with an underdeveloped root system.

“Now that we have dried out, that has caused some drought stress, nutrient deficiencies and subsequent disease issues,” he said.

Just over half of the state’s soybean acres are irrigated each year. July turned dry, and the last half of the month was especially hot.

“With shallow root systems because of early-season rain, drought stress can set in really quickly,” Calhoun said. “We can mitigate that for the most part on irrigated acres. It means we will have to be more aggressive with the water compared to other years.

“For non-irrigated acres, we need a regular rain to fall again quickly. The plant’s water demand is high with most of the acres in reproductive stages,” he said.

The frequent rains for much of the season made weed control a challenge.

“Wet conditions kept us out of the field, letting some weeds get away from us,” Calhoun said.

Another challenge in August is insect issues in the later-planted acres.

“Once crops come out of the field, the later-planted acres are all that’s left, and they can get hit pretty hard by insects,” Calhoun said.

MSU Extension entomologist Whitney Crow said podworms, soybean loopers and other defoliating caterpillars are currently being reported across much of the state.

“As the season advances, stink bugs are expected to become increasingly common and may require closer attention in the coming weeks,” Crow said. “Regular scouting remains critical, and insecticide applications should only be made when pest populations reach economic thresholds.”

She said insecticide applications for podworms should be terminated at the soybean R6 growth stage. For most other insect pests, applications should stop at R6.5.

“The exception is redbanded stink bug, which needs to be treated through R7 unless adverse environmental conditions require longer,” Crow said.

While it is too early to estimate average yields for the state, Will Maples, Extension agricultural economist, said the November futures contract for soybeans through July averaged $10.18 per bushel.

“Prices have been steadily declining throughout the month due to weak export demand and the outlook for a good crop nationally,” Maples said. “Prices last year during the same period averaged $10.67 per bushel.”

Follow MSU Extension’s most up-to-date information on Mississippi row crops at https://www.mississippi-crops.com.