Members of the Soybean Centers Coordination Group (SCCG) met at the Illinois Soybean Association offices in Bloomington, Illinois, in May to discuss research priorities and opportunities. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio were represented at the meeting as well as the U.S. Soybean Research Collaborative (USSRC). 

Ed Anderson of the Iowa Soybean Association opened the meeting by explaining how there are many opportunities to connect the soybean centers and bring people together with unique/unrealized opportunities to develop good partnerships among researchers who wouldn’t have otherwise collaborated across states.

Katy Rainey, Purdue University, gave the group an overview of the four pre-proposals invited by the USB to submit full proposals. Two of the proposals, Soy Food and Soy Food Economics, were developed from the Soy Convening meetings led by Rainey last fall at Purdue University, Iowa State University and the University of Missouri.

1. Soy Food – a multi-state project involving the University of Arkansas, University of Missouri  
    and Purdue University
2. Soy Food Economics – a single state proposal led by Jason Lusk, Purdue University
    (*If USB awards either of these projects, a request for matching funds will be made to FFAR.)
3. Regenerative Ag – a multi-state project involving Iowa State University, University of
    Kentucky, University of Missouri, Purdue University and Southern Illinois University
4. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – a single state proposal led by Katy Rainey, Purdue
    University

Two additional soybean research topics for possible proposal submissions were identified and discussed by the group: 1) seeding rates and 2) new uses for soy meal. Researchers would like to test seeding rates on earlier maturity group beans because current research on seeding rates has only been done for later maturity group varieties. This project could be a good one to share with current multistate on-farm research programs. As for the topic of new uses for soy meal, the group discussed the anticipation of a large increase in the demand for soy oil, which then begs the question…what will be done with the soy meal that results from processing?

In addition, USSRC Director Katherine Drake Stowe talked about how the USSRC Research Forum and Think Tank held in Indianapolis, IN, in August 2021, set the stage for thinking more broadly across the soy value chain. A second annual forum and think tank will be held July 18-20, 2022. Invited research delegates (farmers, staff, university and private sector researchers) from participating soybean-producing states will meet to discuss soybean research needs and efforts to meet those needs.

Beyond organizing the forum and think tank, the USSRC will lead and coordinate national efforts to understand, communicate and coordinate member states’ research portfolios and will identify where there are gaps and/or opportunities for collaborative work in supporting novel and innovative public/private partnerships to address current and future needs. Because the USSRC research forum occurs annually and many individuals involved in the SCCG also participate in USSRC activities, it was decided that the SCCG would meet annually around the USSRC’s Research Forum meeting starting this July.