Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Michael Maw

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Michael Maw, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I have a background in crop physiology and soybean production in Georgia, and I earned my masters and doctorate degrees at Mizzou. When I returned to Georgia to teach, my dad was struggling to find soybean varieties for ultra-late planting, so I had a personal interest in finding answers. During fall semesters, I teach a crop production class. Planting and researching ultra-late soybean production provides excellent educational opportunities for my students in those classes and undergraduates interested in applied research.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
My research projects allow me to mentor future researchers and crop production company employees, providing applied ag research experience at the undergraduate level. This experience better prepares them to serve farmers throughout their careers.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
The soy checkoff provides funding for undergraduate student research and supplements needs at our teaching farm to offset research project costs. These funds are essential for me to conduct applied soybean research.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?
Farmers should embrace a cultural shift to see soybeans as a valuable crop that can provide profit if managed well. Many farmers plant soybeans on their least productive ground and do minimal crop management throughout the season. Instead, they should treat soybeans like a crop that can make a profit — because they can.

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
I believe we need continued investment and research in variety development for Southern soybeans. With current breeding trends, we are losing good determinate varieties that fit this region.  

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Wayne Hudson

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Wayne Hudson, entomologist, Phillip Alampi Beneficial Insect Laboratory, New Jersey Department of Agriculture

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I first got involved in soybeans in 1986 as an intern for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, working on the Mexican bean beetle control program. Farmers were happy to see me, because they needed a solution for the pest. I enjoyed the work because I could see the results of my efforts. I jumped at the opportunity for a full-time job when it became available and worked my way up to being an entomologist, leading the program I once interned for.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
Using beneficial insects to control the Mexican bean beetle means that today’s soybean farmers don’t remember how bad the pest was in the 1980s. The program continues to protect soybean yields and save farmers insecticide and application costs and time.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
When a biological aid for Mexican bean beetle first became available, the soy checkoff helped us get the program started. Now, the checkoff allows us to monitor soybean fields to do a timed release of parasitic wasps so that this pest doesn’t become a problem in New Jersey soybean fields. 

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?
As part of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, I don’t offer recommendations. I refer farmers to their local extension for crop management support.

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
I am partial to the value of biological control for pests, including insects and weeds. I think farmers need research into biological control for challenges like Palmer amaranth and other problems. Developing biological controls can take a lot of time, but they allow farmers to augment their chemical control programs.

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Anna Hodgson

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Anna Hodgson, Extension Educator, Field and Forage Crops, Penn State Extension

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I earned a master’s degree in entomology, with a desire to combine that knowledge with plants and crops. I started assessing integrated pest management, or IPM strategies, in no-till cropping systems. That work naturally led me to a career in extension, where I use my knowledge and experience to help farmers raise their crops.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
Up to 20% of yield loss in no-till acreage in the Mid-Atlantic is due to slugs. If we can figure out how to better predict slug activity, we will be able to help farmers more effectively manage this pest and prevent that damage, protecting soybean yields.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
In Pennsylvania, the soy checkoff has funded significant extension research. It provides the support for much of our current practical research.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?

  • Plant at an appropriate time, when soil temperatures are warm enough to support seed germination.
  • Cover crops provide benefits both for soil health and as habitat for beneficial insects that are natural enemies of key pests.
  • Scout fields frequently to know what is happening in them. Farmers need to get out in their fields to understand current pressures, rather than just driving past them.

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
Research on how recent weird weather patterns affect crops and pest pressure would help farmers better gauge future pest problems. Farmers would also benefit from more research on natural enemies to key pests and how to better use beneficial insects to manage pests and protect yields.

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Jeremy Greene

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Jeremy Greene, Professor of Entomology, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I was originally hired to be the research and extension cotton entomologist at Clemson University in 2006, after retirements of several predecessors. I took on the additional soybean entomology responsibilities years ago when asked to cover that area also. I was delighted to also work in soybeans, as the crop is a preferred host by many species of insects, and it presented additional research and extension opportunities.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
I was part of a group of entomologists in the Southeast that tackled kudzu bug when it appeared in the United States for the first time. We hired and directed a couple of graduate students that published numerous papers about the kudzu bug, and we developed treatment thresholds for the new pest that have been broadly adopted across the region. I was proud to be part of the team that addressed that new problem for our producers. Our efforts and resulting unbiased recommendations saved our producers millions of dollars over several years. We learned and extended the information quickly. We need public entomologists at universities to address invasive species when they appear. 

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
The funding for soybean research is critical to our efforts to stay on top of insect problems in soybeans. Big grants are difficult to obtain, so the regular funding from the soybean checkoff allows us to continue efforts annually on addressing issues with insects. If I didn’t receive support each year, our ability to conduct entomological research for our farmers would be severely hindered. The support is needed and appreciated.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?

  1. Use integrated pest management, or IPM, strategies. An integrated approach is best. Before farmers spray insecticide for chemical control, try other strategies such as cultural control, biological control, physical control and others. Often, these strategies can reduce the risk of damage from insects and potentially save money on insecticide use when chemical control is needed as a last resort.
  2. Do not spray insecticides unless needed — use recommended treatment thresholds.
  3. When it is time to spray an insecticide, make sure you are using one from the correct class of chemistry, or mode of action.

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
Research on refining treatment thresholds is essential to improving profitability for our producers.

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Leonor Leandro

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Leonor Leandro, professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University

Photo courtesy Iowa Soybean Research Center

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
As a plant pathologist, I was interested in working with a plant that is significant in the Midwest and worldwide. I wanted to apply my knowledge to help farmers be more productive, and soybean research allows me to do that.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
Soybean sudden death syndrome, or SDS, is one of the most economically costly soilborne pathogens present in Midwestern soybean fields. My lab focuses on the biology and epidemiology of SDS and other fungal diseases of soybean, especially in the genus Fusarium. This research helps farmers more effectively manage SDS and soybean root rots to protect yield.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
Since I started working at Iowa State University in 2006, the soybean checkoff has provided my main financial support. The checkoff is absolutely essential to my work, and I have led research projects with support from state, regional and national soy checkoff organizations. Beyond funding, these organizations serve as the link between the university and growers. They have helped me stay in touch with grower needs so that my research addresses real challenges in the field.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?

  • Be well-informed about their fields, soil types and history so they understand their issues and potential issues. With this knowledge, farmers can avoid wasting money on unnecessary inputs.
  • Follow extension and research recommendations to address those issues.
  • For diseases like SDS, soybean variety selection for resistance makes a huge difference. 

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
Current and future soybean research should focus on increasing the resilience of cropping systems, so they can better manage unpredictable conditions. As the climate shifts with changes in temperature, unpredictable moisture patterns and potentially higher CO2 concentrations, we need to understand how diseases and other pests could respond to those conditions. We also need to better understand the soil microbiome and practices that impact the carbon cycle, like cover crops and biochar. Supporting soil health and diversifying cropping systems will improve resilience.

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Drew Gholson

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Drew Gholson, Assistant Professor, Agronomy – Irrigation, Mississippi State University

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I have an interdisciplinary background with water and soils, and my area of concentration has always been water management and conservation. I came to Mississippi State University to focus on water use efficiency and reducing irrigation demand on the regional aquifer. Soybeans cover the most acres in Mississippi, so working on soybean irrigation will make the biggest impact on our area’s water use efficiency.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
My efforts to evaluate and promote tools that improve water use efficiency help farmers increase profitability and improve ease of making irrigation decisions. For example, my work with soil moisture sensors focuses on helping farmers use these tools to save time, money and water.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
Support from the soy checkoff has been instrumental in my work. I couldn’t do what I am doing without that funding to support both irrigation tool evaluation and adoption.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?
Farmers that rely on irrigation should look for ways to increase water application efficiency for uniform watering. For example, they can improve irrigation timing with the use of moisture sensors.

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
Farmers have access to an abundance of data, including yield data and more. Future research should look at ways we can use all that information to simplify and improve the accuracy of decision making for irrigation, such as fine-tuning the timing for irrigation termination. This type of research will help us continue to improve water use efficiency while maintaining crops and profitability.

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Elizabeth Hawkins

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Elizabeth Hawkins, Field Specialist, Agronomic Systems, Ohio State University Extension

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I grew up on an Ohio farm, and I knew at an early age that I wanted to be involved in agriculture. I want to help farmers like my father and brother be profitable and productive. Over the course of my education, I have learned about the power of data, and now I am committed to producing relevant data and bringing it to farmers.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
While I have been involved in many small research projects, sharing the results of these and other studies through Ohio State eFields On-Farm Research has the most impact. The program and its annual report bring all the information from on-farm together and get it to farmers in a form they can use.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
The soy checkoff is critical to our research. Not only does it provide funds, it also allows us to interact with farmers to get feedback and input that drives our practical research. We focus on what Ohio farmers care about, and checkoff support allows us to quickly and effectively address local issues.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?
Farmers should constantly be learning by engaging with researchers and other farmers. They should ask extension researchers their questions to learn more about topics they want to understand better. Active engagement in learning will help them quickly get local information and data that can improve their operations.

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
Research needs to keep an eye on the horizon for how new technologies will impact how we farm. Such forward-looking research will help farmers figure out when to invest in technology to improve profitability. Research also needs to help farmers turn data into information that improves their bottom line.

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Robert Koch

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Robert Koch, associate professor and extension entomologist, University of Minnesota 

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I grew up in rural Minnesota just down the road from my grandparents’ dairy farm, so I always had a connection and appreciation for agriculture. Coupled with that, I have always had an interest in biology. I got interested in insects while in college and realized their importance to agriculture, especially crop production. 

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
My team and I were the first research group to document several years ago the soybean aphid’s resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. We’ve done a lot of work to evaluate alternative insecticides that farmers can use. We’re now working on understanding better how insecticide resistance is happening at the molecular level within the insects, and then how to manage their resistance.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
The soybean checkoff is critically important. It enables me to respond more quickly to new challenges, whether it’s resistance developing in an insect or an emerging pest like the soybean gall midge. The annual funding cycle provides an opportunity for a more rapid response for research and extension. These grants also enable me to gather preliminary data and leverage for larger, federal funding sources.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?
Scouting, scouting and scouting. Farmers know there are insects that can threaten their soybean yields, but that doesn’t mean that every field is going to need insecticides every year. We need to be scouting and using threshold measurements to decide when to intervene with insecticides and there are several reasons:

  • Economics – we don’t need to make the investment in insecticides if it isn’t necessary. 
  • Human health — some insecticides have consequences for our health. 
  • Insecticide resistance
  • Environmental — there is concern from regulators about pesticides being detected in our ground and surface waters. Regulators could potentially remove access to some of the insecticide chemicals if the concern becomes too great.

To maintain a good toolbox for management of these pests, we need to be cautious and careful with how we’re using them and making sure they are used only when needed. 

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
Emerging pests and their challenges. There are pests that are evolving to overcome the insecticides. We’ve been dealing with the soybean aphid for more than two decades now. We’ve got new pests showing up like the soybean gall midge. We discovered a new leaf mining insect two years ago in Minnesota — a tiny caterpillar that lives inside the leaves. It’s never been documented as a soybean pest before, so we’re trying to figure out how big of a threat it poses.  

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Mike Castellano

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Mike Castellano, professor, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
My background is in environmental science. As I learned more about the field, I determined that working with the crops that feed the world, including soybeans and corn, would be the best way to make an impact. As a researcher, I study the whole system, and in this area, that means looking at how soybeans and corn work together.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
I have been researching soybean and corn production systems in Iowa for more than 13 years. During that time, I am most excited that my research has not been a series of one-off projects. Instead, I am deepening and broadening our understanding of the whole crop system to constantly improve its efficiency. 

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
If soybean farmers find a problem that they want a solution for, the research to find that solution will be funded. That’s resulted in quite a bit of research over the years that is meaningful to farmers, rather than research that is intriguing to scientists. The soy checkoff makes sure research remains relevant to farmers.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?
Farmers should think about managing their entire system, rather than individual crops or targeted goals. Within their system, they should work to minimize tradeoffs as they introduce new solutions to that system, to improve overall efficiency. 

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?
We need research focused on long-term sustainability, especially as soybeans find a growing role in renewable diesel and other fuels. Such focus will ensure that this cropping system continues to be the most productive and environmentally efficient in the world.

Soybean Research Principal Investigator Profile – Bob Kemerait

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Bob Kemerait, Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia

Why did you decide to pursue a career that includes soybean research?
I am fascinated by plant diseases, and I enjoy plant pathology work. I focused on other crops, but Asian soybean rust brought me into soybeans. Prior to its appearance in the U.S., soybean diseases weren’t a focus for our farmers. Now, I count the many connections I’ve made within soybean disease research as good friends, and I have the opportunity to help soybean farmers protect their yield and profitability.

What research topic have you completed in the past or are working on now that could have or has had the most significant impact on soybean production?
In addition to studying and monitoring Asian soybean rust, I am participating in work to re-evaluate the challenge of soybean cyst nematode with The SCN Coalition. Research to understand and manage these threats helps farmers improve soybean production.

How has the soybean checkoff enhanced your ability to find answers to production problems for farmers?
Without funding, it isn’t possible to do this work. Georgia farmers fund my work with between a nickel and a dime per acre. In a year with a low threat of Asian soybean rust, they can save $10 to $15 per acre by not spraying a fungicide. When the disease is prevalent, a timely spray can save 25 to 40 bushels per acre in yield. Funding the sentinel plot system either saves them money on spraying or protects yield, and both support their profitability.

Within your area of expertise, what are the top two or three general recommendations you would offer farmers to improve their management practices?

  • Soybean farmers need to recognize potential nematode problems and use resistant genetics and nematicides to manage them.
  • Most soybeans in our region benefit from timely fungicide applications, so plan for that application to help them get to their yield potential and to protect profitability.

Within your area of expertise, what do you consider to be critical soybean research needs that can impact the profitability of famers in the future?

  • We need to invest in fungicide resistance research to be ahead of the curve in resistant management for diseases. 
  • We’ve made tremendous progress in breeding efforts for disease and nematode resistance, but more research and progress will be needed. 
  • Integrated pest management research helps farmers learn to use soybean varieties, cultural practices and fungicides for disease and nematode management.