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To remain competitive, soybean farmers must become global marketers and have the best, most current information available to enhance soybean farmer profitability. That's where research funded by the Soybean Checkoff can help. Nearly half of the Checkoff's budget is devoted to research. Read on to see where the dollars are going. Learn more about the projects by clicking on the topics below.
VIPS (the Varietal Information Program for Soybeans) is a tool for analyzing the performance of soybean varieties. It includes a broad spectrum of information on most soybean varieties included in the University of Illinois variety trials. Growers can check information on disease resistance/susceptibility ratings for soybean cyst nematode (SCN), sudden death syndrome (SDS), white mold (sclerotinia stem rot or SSR), rhizoctonia root rot, green stem, and mottled seed. Performance results for yield, protein, and oil and disease diagnostics are also available.
Half of today's soybeans is derived from three ancestral lines, and 80% of the current crop is derived from just 13 ancestral lines. A three-year research program is focused on finding new genes that can improve soybean traits, which can then be employed in new germplasm and provided to breeders and farmers for use in their own fields.
Midwest soybean farmers lose more than $1 billion in yields each year to the top 20 soybean diseases. That's why the Checkoff funds research to determine the best methods for battling major soybean pests and pathogens—providing the best information for the region's farmers to help with their day-to-day crop management decisions.
More than 55 weed species threaten soybean yields each year in fields across Illinois, so weed scientists from three universities are working together toward assuring that weeds no longer choke the life out of soybean profitability for Illinois soybean farmers.
For the past 50 years, soybean meal has been the supplemental protein of choice in swine diets around the world, but in those years, the U.S. has had more competition from other countries. It's an increasing challenge to stay competitive in the world soybean market. Researchers have discovered a way to help U.S. soy meal maintain a very competitive position in the global marketplace.
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