Production Research
BRINGING THE WORLD OF AG SCIENCE TO YOUR FIELD
Indiana soybean farmers employ best management practices, which allow them to increase yields while minimizing impacts on the environment and their own farming operations.
What’s the benefit? Indiana Soybean Alliance helps farmers meet each of these objectives by supporting on-farm production research and tools.
Production Research
In addition to working directly with farmers, ISA, along with Indiana Corn Marketing Council collectively invest over $500,000 per year in university research projects with Purdue University, University of Notre Dame and Indiana University to identify solutions to environmental stressors such as weeds, pests, drought and soil-borne diseases.
Indiana-funded research and soybean facts can be found at the research database called, the Soybean Research Information Network (SRIN). This website is a product of the United Soybean Board and North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP), of which the Indiana Soybean Alliance is a member.
Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center
ISA provided $1 million in soybean checkoff funds for the new automated plant phenotyping facility at Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education (ACRE) to support research and develop students to, ultimately, benefit Indiana’s soybean farmers.
A few facts about the center:
- 25,500 square-foot facility and 1,400-acre research station designated to support state-of-the-art research in automated field phenotyping
- Phenotyping is the process of measuring and analyzing observable plant characteristics An additional $1 million from ISA will be placed into an endowment to fund soybean research related to plant phenotyping and technology innovation
Why did Indiana’s soybean farmers choose to invest checkoff funds in this project?
“Indiana soybean farmers know that we need to continue to think outside the box when it comes to new technologies. The new phenotyping research facility is going to offer researchers the opportunity to test many of those outside the box ideas on a small scale to see if they should be ramped up in bigger research projects in the future. Farmers know that the more tests that are done, the more opportunities for a game changing technology break through. Each farmer knows that in his or her farming career he or she only has an opportunity to produce about 40 crops. The ISA board realizes that technology advancements are the best way to feed more people and preserve the environment.”
– Joe Steinkamp, former board member and farmer, Evansville, Ind.
INfield Advantage
In addition to investing in research with national and regional partners, your Indiana soy checkoff is also investing in programs that bring the research to your farm and promote individualized BMPs that can make a big impact — both economically and environmentally.