Pa. Soybean Board Offers Grants to Fund New Research Proposals
Harrisburg, PA (January 12, 2012) – The Pennsylvania Soybean Board is currently accepting grant applications for projects designed to improve the efficiency and profitability of Pennsylvania’s soybean producers. The deadline for applications is March 6, 2012.
“Soybean research and promotion is essential to Pennsylvania soybean producers,” says Daryl Alger, Chairman of the Pa. Soybean Board. “We encourage investigators with new and challenging ideas to submit proposals for research that may expand profit opportunities for soybean producers.”
Proposals for research focusing on soybean production, utilization, education/information and marketing will be considered. All proposals must demonstrate a benefit to soybean producers. Specific issues identified as research priorities by the Board are listed at paysoybean.org, but proposals are not limited to these areas.
In addition to research projects that focus on crop production issues and those that position Pennsylvania soy in alternative-use niche markets, the all-farmer Board will also consider proposals that support the primary domestic end- user for soybeans, the livestock producer.
Recent research projects on crop management and marketing have included on-farm production trials, stink bug monitoring, and investigation into the viability of bulk-loaded soy from Pa. export facilities. Research projects are also currently being funded to improve the long-term viability of swine farming with husbandry systems that meet the changing demands of society and for developing standard operating procedures for evaluating and documenting animal welfare and herd health standards in the dairy industry.
All researchers whose projects are selected to receive funding will present their findings to soybean producers at the annual Soybean Growers Field Day, scheduled to be held at Penn State’s Landisville, Pa. Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center (SEAREC) in August, 2012.
Grant applications can be obtained by calling the Pa. Soybean Board office at 717.651.5922 or by going to the website pasoybean.org. The Board will select grant recipients in March 2012.
About the Pennsylvania Soybean Board
The Pennsylvania Soybean Board is a farmer-controlled Board responsible for managing Pennsylvania’s share of funds received from the nationwide Soybean Checkoff program. The funding is available under an assessment program, approved by Congress in 1990, under which soybean farmers contribute 50 cents of every $100 they receive for their beans at the first point of sale. Funds are used to develop markets, educate consumers, and research new ways to utilize and produce soybeans more efficiently.
For more information, go to pasoybean.org.
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