Crop Planning With Vyconic™ Soybeans: Why Flexibility Matters More Than Ever

For soybean growers across the country, planning for the next year begins at harvest — long before seed orders are placed. It’s when the combine reveals what performed, what management strategies worked and what didn’t, and what needs to change to maximize soybean yields.

For Kevin Sponsler, Field Sales Representative at Bayer and a soybean grower in Fairfax, Minnesota, preseason planning isn’t a seed decision made in winter. It’s a continuous process built on observation, reflection, and a pursuit of stronger soybean yields through better management and systems that hold up under real-world conditions across every acre.

“Harvest is where you see it all laid bare,” Kevin says. “You see what really yielded, where the agronomics held up, and where the tolerance control systems didn’t.”

That moment of truth sets the tone for every decision that follows. Offseason planning has become one of the most important tools growers have to stay ahead of agronomic challenges. As growers evaluate soybean traits and varieties for the coming season, many are realizing that planning is no longer just about picking a product. Planning is about choosing systems that allow them to better manage and adapt as conditions change.

Where Soybean Crop Planning Really Begins

Kevin’s planning process begins the moment the combine enters the field. Harvest provides a clear, side-by-side look at what worked across different environments and where limitations in soybean traits and herbicide tolerance became visible.

For Kevin, three insights shape nearly every offseason and next-season decision.

1. Understanding true yield potential
   • Harvest makes it clear which soybean varieties and management strategies pushed yields across different soil types. For many growers, this is also the first step in building a more accurate soybean yield estimate for the season ahead.
2. Agronomic resilience
   • Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC) and Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans were major challenges in 2025, directly impacting soybean yields and exposing differences in soybean seed genetics. “It was obvious which beans held their own and which didn’t,” he notes. The experience reinforced to Kevin how field-specific disease pressure can be and how it can be one of the biggest yield limiting factors.
3. Herbicide-tolerance strategy check
   • Because late-season escapes are still visible at harvest, Kevin sees this as a practical moment to evaluate the whole soybean herbicide tolerance strategy. He’s not just talking about weed control, but how well the crop tolerated the chemistry, timing, environmental stress and in-season adjustments throughout the season.

At the end of the day, as planting and management decisions start to come into focus, Kevin filters everything through one question: How do I manage my crops in every environment to protect soybean yields while working within today’s pressure, trait options and system realities?

What Soybean Farmers Often Overlook During Offseason Crop Planning

According to Kevin, one of the biggest obstacles to improving average soybean yields isn’t agronomic — it’s psychological.

“People get comfortable with what they’ve always done,” he says. “Even if the system isn’t perfect, they stick with it because it’s familiar and yields are okay.”

But Kevin says that mindset is starting to shift. Growers are comparing soybean yields per acre, talking to neighbors, and more critically evaluating field performance and management techniques across different soybean seed companies and trait platforms at harvest. They are beginning to prioritize systems, such as Vyconic^TM soybeans, that protect yield potential and give them more flexibility to manage weeds.

“When flexibility is built into the system,” Kevin says, “it changes how you plan, how you spray, and how confident you are going into the season.”

Change management pays off most when growers have access to systems designed to flex with their acres that are backed by agronomic support. It helps them build the right program for their operation.

As growers evaluate soybean varieties and soybean technology for the coming season, Kevin’s advice is simple: “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. If your current approach is just ‘working well enough,’ there are better options out there.”

How Vyconic Soybeans are Changing the Future of Crop Planning

For growers frustrated by rigid options, Kevin sees soybean advancements like Vyconic as an important shift. “It opens doors,” he says. “It gives you choices. And it lets you build a system around your acres instead of building your acres around a system. No matter the agronomic challenge or yield goal, there will be a fit for different acres and scenarios.”

Vyconic soybeans, the newest approach to soybean traits, are designed to deliver the kind of flexibility Kevin and growers like him need. Current traits are tolerant to three herbicides. Vyconic is tolerant to five. With tolerances to glyphosate, glufosinate, dicamba, 2,4-D and mesotrione, Vyconic will be the first trait of its kind, developed through extensive agronomic research.

This level of herbicide tolerance gives growers a stronger foundation. But maximizing yield takes more than genetics. It requires the ability to manage fields the right way each season.

Vyconic will give growers more flexibility to manage weeds their way and unlock higher yield potential year after year. See how Vyconic is being developed by watching our Lab to Cab video series.

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