By: Sheila Crowley
Murray County News Staffwriter
Gene Stoel, rural Chandler, was elected president of the North Central Soybean Research Program in Ankeny, Iowa in early December. The day prior, he was appointed to the United Soybean Board in St. Louis.
Stoel has served Minnesota’s representative for the past eight years. The NCSRP is a 12-state midwest collaboration that invests soybean checkoff via university research and extension. The group pools their money to invest in soybean research. These 12 states, according to Stoel, represent approximately 80% of the soybean production in the United States. Approximately 3-4 million dollars a year is spent on research. Stoel says his goal is to keep the NCSRP on a forward path with a focus on innovation and profitability with the money being generated through contributions from the state organizations.
The group meets 3-4 times a year and try to determine the right type of research they wish to invest their dollars. “We are about protecting yield and enhancing yields,” stated Stoel. Mainly their focus is geared towards the production side of soybean research. One focus area is resistance management through breeding in hopes of warding off soybean cyst nematode, soybean aphids, along with a number of other pests. Another area is figuring out the pest itself.
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