[University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension
University of Arkansas System. Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. Shawn Peebles,
Arkansas Edamame Producer, White County]
[Video shows edamame being harvested and edamame plants with bean pods.]
My name is Shawn Peebles. We grow organic
crops, predominately edamame here on this farm.
Today we’re harvesting. We got two pickers
running. We started today. Hopefully we’ll get 15-20 acres out today and
continue on from this point.
[Slide] How long have you been a producer?
I’ve been a producer all my life. This is probably my 20th crop. Second
crop of organic. We started organic last year. (Of) course this is the first
year for the edamame. [Video shows Shawn standing next to a field and a
picker in the field harvesting.]
[Slide] Are there any challenges growing organic?
The organic is different. The edamame is a sweeter crop than a soybean,
so insects like it more. [Video shows Shawn standing next to a field.]
[Slide] What was your main focus this year?
Predominately just keeping the irrigation on it. It likes a lot of
water. On a dry year like we’ve had this year, that was probably the biggest
challenge we had was keeping it wet. It cannot get stressed. [Video shows Shawn
standing next to a field and harvested edamame being dumped into trailers.]
[Slide] What is different about growing edamame?
Not much different from raising soybeans, more intensive, more like a
vegetable crop than a soybean in that respect. More delicate. We watched it on a
daily basis. [Video shows Shawn standing next to a field and pickers in the
field harvesting.]
[Slide] Are there any differences when harvesting edamame?
The harvest for the edamame is a lot slower than soybean harvest. Of
course it’s harvested as a green crop. But in general, you probably are going to
harvest at about one-fifth of the rate that you would of a soybean crop. [Video
shows Shawn standing next to a field and a combine in the field harvesting.]
[Slide] What advice do you have for future edamame growers?
The only advice I would give would be proactive. Don’t, we always seem
to wait a little while until we see worms or bugs or insects on our soybeans.
Then we spray when we’re at threshold. The thresholds are much, much lower with
edamame. You need to act in a very proactive way. When you think you’ve got
insect problems, you probably need to be managing that problem then. [Video
shows Shawn standing next to a field, a person tarping the trailer, and a truck
transporting the harvested edamame out of the field.]
For more information on edamame production, check the website
www.uaex.edu.
[University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension University
of Arkansas System. Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board
www.uaex.edu]
University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
2301 South University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204 • USA
Phone (501) 671-2000 • Fax (501) 671-2209
