Projects selected for soybean checkoff dollars were prioritized by the MSB’s Board of Directors.
The Maryland Soybean Board (MSB) has invested more than $921,783 in research, promotion and communications projects that will benefit local soybean producers in fiscal year 2024. Projects selected to be funded using soybean checkoff dollars were prioritized by the MSB’s Board of Directors, which is made up of soybean farm leaders representing every region in the state. (Photo by Braden Egli on Unsplash)
SALISBURY, Md. — The Maryland Soybean Board (MSB) has invested more than $921,783 in research, promotion and communications projects that benefit local soybean producers in fiscal year 2024. Projects selected for funding using soybean checkoff dollars were prioritized by the MSB’s board of directors, which is made up of soybean farm leaders representing every region in the state.
“Maryland Soybean Board directors are proud to give back to our neighboring farmers through the Soybean Checkoff Program,” said Chairman Joshua Appenzeller, “and our most recent return on investment study shows that for every dollar invested in the soybean checkoff, farmers receive $12.34 in added value.”
Funding was provided to a variety of promotional and communications projects aimed at building demand and consumer confidence in Maryland soybeans and soy-based products. Examples of funded projects include:
In addition, research projects were funded to address issues such as weed and pest management and increasing yields to maximise farmer profitability in the field. Examples of these projects include:
- Agricultural Drone School, Andrew Kunes and Erica Crowl, University of Maryland Extension
- Enhanced Rock Weathering – Effects of Basalt Amendments on Crops and Soils, Ray Weil and Mark Townsend, University of Maryland
- Improving Herbicide-Resistant Weed Management in Maryland Soybeans, Kurt Vollmer, University of Maryland Extension
- Optimizing Precision Irrigation Management for Soybean Crops in Maryland, Hemendra Kumar, University of Maryland Extension
- Stink Bug Population Dynamics on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Relationships with Winter Cover Crops, and Risk to Soybean, Emily Zobel, Haley Sater, Dwayne Joseph, University of Maryland Extension
A complete list of funded projects is available upon request. In Maryland, farmers grow approximately 500,000 acres of soybeans and produce more than 20 million bushels of soybeans annually. Valued at $173 million to Maryland’s economy, soybeans are one of Maryland’s major crops. The checkoff program provides funding through an assessment of 0.5% of the net market value of farmers’ soybeans at the time of their first sale. Half of the checkoff funds remain in the Maryland program and the other half goes to the U.S. Soybean Board.
For more information about the American Soybean Association, Click here for detailsor for the Maryland Soybean Commission, home page.
—Daniel Bauer-Farache, Maryland Soybean Commission
