The Southern Soybean Research Program met multiple times this past year to discuss the concerns and needs of the member states. These meetings were held hybrid in-person formats in conjunction with other soybean meetings. The Southern Soybean Research Program’s fiscal year 2023 began on October 1st. For the FY 23 year we had the following states as members Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The group met in December to discuss funding opportunities and hear reports from Dr. Patil at Texas Tech and his project, "Technologies to Improve Nutrient Uptake and Reduce Excess Fertilizer Use in Soybeans." The group funded that project for another year and look forward to seeing continues progress in this area. The group met again this past summer in conjunction with the Research Forum and Think Tank again hearing progress from Dr. Patil and Dr. Bradley on a multi-regional funded project. At this meeting the board discussed topics that were relevant to the region and possible targeted research topics for the group. The SSRP program is excited to work with the other regional programs to fund a joint national project along with a more regional project within the SSRP, Mid-South and Atlantic grower regions.

By pooling resources our smaller states are able to have a much larger impact on the research being conducted that ultimately affects their bottom lines. We are all able to do so much more working together than trying to go it alone. By having the states come together as regions sharing ideas and issues we are able to target funding for a better outcome for all of the soybean industry.