AMES, Iowa — Following meetings with its industry advisory council and management team, the Iowa Soybean Research Center (ISRC) announced that it has awarded funding for a new soybean research project at Iowa State University.

“We considered many good projects, but it became clear during the industry advisory council’s discussions that there was great interest centered around one particular project,” said ISRC director, Greg Tylka. “We thank all the Iowa State researchers who submitted ideas for research projects, and we greatly appreciate the support and input of our industry advisory council.”

Prashant Jha, an associate professor in agronomy and an extension weed specialist at Iowa State, will receive $120,000 from the center over two years in support of his project, “Hyperspectral Imaging for Early Detection of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds in Soybean.” Jha’s research will focus on identifying herbicide-resistant weeds through images captured by ground-based and drone-based platforms and use the information to develop maps of the weeds to improve weed management.

“It is so important, especially in times like these, that we continue to fund research, which ultimately helps Iowa’s farmers and Iowa’s economy,” said Ed Anderson, senior director of research for the Iowa Soybean Association and chair of the advisory council. “The project that was selected for funding drew considerable interest specifically from the farmers and industry members who attended the center’s industry advisory council meeting.”

The ISRC is a formal collaboration of Iowa soybean farmers, industry partners, the Iowa Soybean Association and Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Current industry partners include BASF, Bayer, Cornelius Seed, Corteva Agriscience, FMC, GDM and Syngenta. Each industry partner has a representative who serves on the advisory council. The council also has three farmer representatives and meets annually to provide feedback on what research they would like to see funded. Following the council meeting, the ISRC’s management team met to review the council’s discussions and finalize funding decisions. More information on ISRC-funded projects can be found at the Iowa Soybean Center.

About the Iowa Soybean Research Center

The Iowa Soybean Research Center was established in 2014 by Iowa State University in partnership with the Iowa Soybean Association. The center was founded to increase soybean production and profitability for Iowa farmers through coordinated research efforts involving Iowa State, the Iowa Soybean Association and the private sector. Information on becoming an industry partner of the Iowa Soybean Research Center is available by contacting center director Greg Tylka, 515-294-0878 or ISRC@iastate.edu.

Contacts: 

Kara Berg, Iowa Soybean Research Center, 515-294-8927, kjberg@iastate.edu
Greg Tylka, Iowa Soybean Research Center, 515-294-0878, gltylka@iastate.edu
Ed Anderson, Iowa Soybean Association, 515-334-1059, eanderson@iasoybeans.com