Public soybean breeders play a vital role in developing new traits, tools and varieties that benefit everyone. But these breeders don’t always have the resources to work together, across state lines, or with the latest tools, which means slower progress and missed chances to deliver soybeans with better yields, pest resistance and seed quality.
This project will allow soybean breeders to work together across the North Central region; share genetic tools, research data and new breeding methods; and deliver better soybean varieties to farmers faster. The SOYGEN group is a multi-state, public breeding network focused on real-world challenges in soybean farming.
The objectives of this project include building a central database so breeders can share information on all public breeding lines. The team will develop and test new breeding tools including prediction of performance using only DNA information. Field trials will be conducted across 13 states with common checks so results are directly comparable. They will also train the next generation of soybean breeders.
With improved soybean varieties developed through public breeding programs, farmers will see higher yields per acre, with soybeans having improved protection against pests and diseases. The new varieties will have traits that matter to growers such as standability and seed quality within the different maturity groups.