Update:
Below is a listing of the Iowa Soybean Research Center (ISRC) activities from April through September 2021.

The ISRC now has 11 industry partners. Our newest partners include UPL and Innvictis/Simplot. UPL NA, Inc. produces agricultural chemicals specializing in herbicides, insecticides, bactericides, fungicides, fumigants, and harvest aid, and pest management services. Innvictis/Simplot is a manufacturer and retailer of seed treatments and other agricultural products. We welcome both UPL and Innvictis/Simplot to the center’s partnership team.

A staff retreat for the ISRC was held at Reiman Garden’s Speer Room on June 24. Participating in the retreat were Greg Tylka, Jill Cornelis, Kara Berg, Steve May and Ed Anderson. At the meeting, attendees:
• Discussed other partnership considerations outside our realm of soybean production – exploring opportunities to connect with different areas of the industry. Ex. Cargill
• Reviewed of the center’s website – discussed changes made on the current site to enhance the way users search for information.
• Outlined the Industry Advisory Council meeting agenda and reviewed the research summaries submitted by ISU soybean researchers for funding consideration by the council – decided on presenters, etc.
• Reviewed ISRC Operating Guidelines including policies for ISRC-supported research – it was the first time the center’s operating guidelines have been reviewed since its inception in 2014.

The NC-1197: Practical Management of Nematodes on Corn, Soybeans and Other Crops of Regional Importance group met this year at Reiman Gardens in Ames, Iowa on July 22-23. The meeting was hosted by the Iowa Soybean Research Center. The multi-state group is made up of university members from Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky, Kansas, North Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, and Alabama, plus an administrative advisor and two USDA-NIFA representatives. It was a hybrid meeting with 11 representatives joining in-person and 4 participating via a ZOOM connection. Kaitlyn Bissonnette, University of Missouri, organized the meeting’s agenda that included a welcome from Ed Anderson, representing NCSRP, updates from each of the USDA-NIFA representatives, the NC-1197 administrative advisor, and state reports from each state representative.

Mark Licht, assistant professor of agronomy and extension cropping systems specialist at ISU, reached out to the ISRC for assistance in organizing and hosting an Ag Media Meet & Greet on August 6 at the ISU Field Education Extension Laboratory (FEEL) in Boone, Iowa. This was an opportunity for agriculture reporters to meet and make connections with ISU crop extension specialists when expert information is needed. Several of the reporters conducted on-the-spot interviews at FEEL after the event concluded.

After much anticipation, the ISRC’s inaugural SoyFest took place on ISU’s campus on August 25, 2021. The focus of SoyFest is to educate ISU undergraduate students about the importance of soybean to Iowa and the many different uses of soybean. The event had a festival feel with tents, games, soy-related food samples, robotic demonstrations, a photo booth, potted soybean plants, and the like. The day was hot, but students lined up to participate in the fun. Special appearances included President Wintersteen, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Robison, ISA’s District 5 Farmer Board member Morey Hill, and Cy.

The ISRC hosted a Meals from the Heartland (MFTH) packaging event as a kickoff activity on the eve of SoyFest. Soy protein is a “lifesaving” component in each meal, according to MFTH coordinator, Joel O’Dell. MFTH uses volunteers to help package nutritious meals for those in need both locally and internationally. Our goal of packaging 20,000 healthy meals in two hours with 42 ISU faculty, staff, and student volunteers would provide food security for children in Iowa returning to school. Volunteers had a good time competing with each other to package as many meals as possible in the two hours. The group worked so hard, they exceeded the goal and packaged over 30,000 meals with 10,000 of the meals being shipped to help people in Haiti following a devastating earthquake earlier in the month. We are thankful to our volunteers and grateful to Cargill and Syngenta for sponsoring the cost of the meal packaging ingredients.

The ISRC hosted their annual Industry Advisory Council (IAC) meeting in Ames, Iowa on September 3. As was the case in 2020, this year’s meeting was a hybrid of council members attending the meeting in person and others connecting through ZOOM. The agenda included speakers presenting on existing and new proposed research ideas in the morning and discussions about the IAC's research needs and review of research ideas submitted by ISU soybean researchers in the afternoon. The IAC recommended support of the following research projects for FY22:
1. Liang Dong and Steve Whitham, "Low-cost multimodal sensor arrays for early-detection of soybean diseases."
2. Prashant Jha, "Enhancing implementation and adoption of non-chemical tactics for IWM in soybean."
3. Leonor Leandro, "Time of disease onset as an early indicator of soybean resistance to SDS."
4. Steve Whitham, Lie Tang, and Danny Singh, "Effects of increased atmosheric CO2 and abiotic stress on soybean performance in the Enviratron."

On September 20, the center’s Management Team reviewed the research proposals and the IAC members’ comments and recommendations made at the September 3 IAC meeting. A final decision was made to invest the available funds to support the research as suggested by the IAC.

Upcoming:
The Iowa Soy Convening will be held at Iowa State University on October 27 hosted by the ISRC. The meeting is part of a planning project for increasing demand for soybean in plant-based protein led by Katy Rainey from Purdue University. The center will identify stakeholders to participate in the Iowa Convening who will provide input about how to build market opportunities for soy as the preferred plant protein source.

The Iowa Soybean Research Center works to support and promote all university research, teaching, and extension activities related to soybean biology, breeding, economics, precision agriculture, production and pest management. The ultimate, long-term goal of the center is to advance understanding of soybean plant biology and to increase soybean production and make production more profitable and environmentally sustainable for Iowa farmers in the future. The center accomplishes its goals by leveraging soybean checkoff dollars with funds from its 12 industry partners to support research. The center's funding priorities are set by the center's Industry Advisory Council, which consists of three farmers and a representative from each industry partner. This council also provides feedback on current soybean research needs. In FY2021, three Iowa State University faculty received funding for projects. as follows: 1) Thomas Baum for “Mechanisms of defense suppression by cyst nematode effectors,” 2) Leanor Leandro for "Time of disease onset as an early indicator of soybean resistance to SDS," and Lie Tang for "In-field soybean seed pod analysis on harvest stocks using 3D imaging and machine learning."