How the United Soybean Board [Check-off Organization] Contributes to Achieving Practical Farming Solutions Through Funding of Public Research and Partnering with Private Industry.

The mission of the United Soybean Board (USB) is to effectively invest and leverage soybean check-off resources to maximize profit opportunities for U.S. soybean farmers. Resources are utilized to fund projects that promote the domestic and international marketing of soybean, development of new uses, and soybean production research. In 2012, over $20 million was invested in production research aimed at achieving solutions to on-farm needs. As a farmer-led organization, growers identified research needs in the broad areas of yield improvement through conventional breeding and molecular genetics, protection of yield from disease, insect pests, parasitic nematodes, and abiotic stress, and lastly, improvement in the quantity and quality of the compositional characteristics of the seed, mainly protein and oil. USB projects are largely funded through public institutions with the capacity and expertise to fulfill the research needs, with input from private industry and consultative sources. Projects are managed and directed by USB staff. Results and achievements of production research are communicated through the extension arm of the public institutions and peer-reviewed publications, and also through USB-sponsored workshops and conferences, bulletins, the USB website, and its project database, as well as open dialog with soybean farmers and consultative services, public and private.