North Central Soybean Research Program Holds Annual Meeting
The North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) board of directors
held its annual meeting Dec. 6. The board elected officers, approved
co-funding for the 2008 Sentinel Plot Program with the United Soybean
Board (USB), and reviewed research pre-proposals for future investments.
The NCSRP annual meeting was held in St. Louis in conjunction with USB
and American Soybean Association board meetings.
NCSRP officers elected: Directors re-elected Jerry
Wyse as president. A soybean grower from Haven, Kan., Wyse will serve
his second one-year term in 2008. John Buck of Bloomington, Ohio, was
re-elected to his second term as vice president and Ed Cagney of Scotts,
Mich., was re-elected secretary/treasurer.
Other directors who serve on the NCSRP board include: Fayte Brewer,
Romney, Ind.; Doug Hanson, Elk Point, S.D.; Matt Hughes, Shirley, Ill.;
Gene Stoel, Lake Wilson, Minn.; Gary Alpers, Prairie Home, Missouri;
Mike Cerny, Sharon, Wis.; Monte Peterson, Valley City, N.D.; Brian Kemp,
Sibley, Iowa; and Gregg Fujan, Weston, Neb. The board is comprised of
volunteer farmer-leaders from the 12 Midwest states, which produce 80
percent of U.S. soybeans.
Funds for the Sentinel Plot Program: The board allocated more
than $350,000 toward the sentinel plot system to detect and monitor
soybean rust in the United States.
“The sentinel plot system has been a valuable tool to track the
known locations of soybean rust in the United States,” says David
Wright, Ph.D., director of NCSRP’s Plant Health Initiative. “This
system has saved soybean producers millions of dollars in unnecessary
fungicide applications. In 2007 soybean rust was detected as far north
as northern Iowa and southern Ontario. Although the economic impact
of soybean rust has been minimal, it is clearly spreading.”
In addition, the board funded production of an educational brochure
focusing on new management recommendations for soybean aphid.
The NCSRP focuses on improving soybean plant health through innovative,
coordinated research at universities through the United State. Since
its inception in 1995, NCSRP has invested more than $25 million in soybean
production research designed to improve yield by helping growers manage
soybeans from the ground up.
