It is safe to say that Luxemburg farmer Jim Salentine knows his land pretty well, which is why you saw him win a statewide contest for his soybean yields this month. His 81.85 bushels per acre were enough to win the Wisconsin Soybean Yield Contest for Division 2, consisting of farms in northeast Wisconsin. Salentine was the third generation to take over Salentine Homestead Dairy from his dad in 1975. He acknowledges how farming has changed since his grandparents, Ben and Marie, purchased the farm in 1920, not just because the herd has grown from 45 cows to more than 300 cows and from 80 to 560 acres. He says making small changes annually has helped him keep up.

Salentine has won the award several times before, but he admits the drought conditions they battled this year made him wonder if he could win it again. The final ranking and awards will be presented in February at the Corn Soy Expo at the Kalahari Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells.