The goal of this experiment is to characterize and quantity the effect of genetic and agronomic (management) yield gain in soybean breeding over the past several decades.

The University of Wisconsin, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, University of Illinois, and Purdue University, will characterize and quantify the effect of genetics and changes in agronomic practices on soybean yield gain. Each institution will test 59 cultivars that were released between 1923 and 2008. The cultivars chosen for this experiment include both public and private lines that were considered elite or novel at the time of their release.