Article written by Chris Clark and Shawn Conley

The 2025 Wisconsin soybean crop is projected to be worth nearly one billion dollars, a high value success built on early planting, high yield genetics, integrated pest management (IPM), and smart fertility practices.

Wisconsin follows a build-and-maintain strategy. This means the fertilizer application rates for low and very low testing soils include the amount of fertilizer that will be removed by the harvested portion of the crop plus an additional amount to build up soil test levels over 4–8-year period to the optimum soil test category.  This makes it essential for farmers to know how much of each nutrient needs to be replaced after harvest.

That’s why we’ve relaunched the Soybean Nutrient Calculator in partnership with the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, on our new website: https://badgercropnetwork.com/soybean-nutrient-calculator/

This easy to use, research-based tool helps farmers and agronomists estimate nutrient uptake and removal based on soybean yield. For example, while soybeans fix their own nitrogen, they can still uptake and remove over 300 lbs of N/acre in high yield (100 bpa) situations. Wonder how much N is also removed with baled residue? That’s where the calculator comes in.

Use the Soybean Nutrient Calculator:

  1. Go to badgercropnetwork.com/soybean-nutrient-calculator
  2. Enter your expected or actual soybean yield
  3. Get estimates for 11 nutrients in three categories:
    • Total Uptake (lbs/acre)
    • Grain Removal (lbs/acre)
    • Stover Removal (lbs/ton dry matter)

Residue or stover removal—especially for potassium (K)—can have a big impact on soil fertility for next year’s crop. To help with planning, the calculator now includes a new feature that estimates nutrient removal when soybean residue is baled for animal bedding.

As we look ahead to #Harvest25, here’s what nutrient dynamics might look like in a 70-bushel soybean crop using the calculator:

  • High nutrient uptake in total biomass
  • Significant phosphorus and potassium removal with grain
  • Even more potassium lost when stover is removed

Make sure you’re replenishing what your soybeans take out of the soil. Try the Soybean Nutrient Calculator today.

For more information, consult:

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