Farm Fact Friday: What is the difference between Green Soybean Pods vs Mature?

Hello everyone welcome back to another Farm Fact Friday. Things have been feeling like fall lately and the soybean fields can tell that fall is coming as well. So standing in front of a soybean field right here that is starting to change you can see the mix of colors between green and yellow which is exciting. So today I’m going to talk a little bit about the green pod and the mature pod when it comes to soybeans.

So as you can tell during the summer soybean plants are quite green and that green pod is very important that’s a sign that the soybeans in there are growing. We want to see that pod filled with three to four soybeans you know if we can get three to four that those yields are going to look better as compared to two or three then once that soybean plant continues to mature and grow it’s going to start to change which is an indication that it is to full growth and harvest is coming soon. So the mature plants as you can tell it’s going to start changing from that green color to the yellow. So you can see lots and lots of yellow in there and as it changes from yellow that then it the leaves will start to fall off and what we’re going to be left with right before harvest is a stalk and those pods which are brown may look like they’re dead but if you still see a standing field with those in it it is not indication that they’re dead and you can just play in it if you simply walk through the field you could knock off those pods which contain the soybeans and it’s very difficult then to even get those beans you know out of the field to be able to harvest. So if you see that just stay out until the farmer is able to combine.

Now if you look in my hand I have a couple different bean pods which are from the field behind me. This first one very green you can tell by its indents that there are three beans in there so that’s good and then you can just kind of see the progression from green and then this is one starting to even change to a brown color. Now in order to even check the beans inside you can pop the pod open but these pods are kind of green what we call they’re hard to get open so that indicates to me that these beans are still way too wet too moist but here we go got it open you can see the three beans in here…..maybe. See the three beans and as it gets dry more mature we can pop these open maybe even stick them in our mouth give it a little chew to see if it’s too chewy or if they’re dry enough.

So as you’re driving through the countryside you’ll continue to see the the crops change from green to yellow and then eventually for those leaves to fall off. In a previous episode we did talk about the uses of soybeans one of them being going back into feeds for nourishment of our cattle, hogs, chickens all kinds of different livestock but if you’re interested in hearing some of the other uses that we previously talked about you can check that out in our YouTube channel. So fall the you know the weather we’ve lately been having indicates falls in the air our fields are also telling us that as well. So just keep a look out for it continue to watch as things change just south of here right now. I’m in Arcadia if you head south there are some fields that are showing full mature fields that will be combined very very soon.

So my additional public service announcement to just be mindful out there as we start to get combines and trucks out on the roadway. Of course we’re just trying to get to that destination safely and we want you to get where you’re going safely as well. So be patient with us so we can get these soybeans off get them in the bins or off to the elevator so we can turn it into you know feed for animals, biodiesel fuels, all kinds of oils, all kinds of different things. So with that I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about soybeans to make it full circle have a great rest of your Friday a wonderful weekend and we will check you back next week for another Farm Fact Friday take care.