1. Variety and germplasm development. Each year we will: hybridize selected parents in the fall and winter greenhouses, and summer growing seasons to produce progeny for this project; advance populations and lines lines for evaluation; plant and maintain field plots; collect agronomic, environmental, genomic and spatial data throughout the growing season; harvest plots in the fall; summarize and analyze data; plant and maintain fall and winter greenhouses and utilize winter nursery facilities to advance and increase populations and lines; and build training populations to discover new genes (markers), and optimize genomic and phenotypic selection models. Parents will be selected based on achieving the goals of producing progeny that will contribute to the genetic gain for soybean seed yield, increased genetic diversity in the US soybean gene pool, optimizing seed composition, and enhancing pest resistance and drought and heat tolerance. Breeding lines will be screened for resistance to multiple SCN populations representing the virulence diversity existing across Kansas. Throughout these breeding activities we will continue to stive to engage private breeders in collaborative activities to help them develop new materials for the farmer.

Combining resistances to important pathogens, optimizing seed composition (high oleic oil), enhancing genetic diversity and improving abiotic stress (drought and heat) resistance will help enable public and private breeding programs to sustain improvement of resilient soybean varieties able to meet the production and quality of soybean products needed in the marketplace. Elite as well as potentially “good” diverse germplasm will be used as parents to develop new progeny to help bridge the gap in performance between exotic germplasm and elite varieties. High oleic, low linolenic soybean represents a value-added commodity. There is also a need to produce high-protein soybean meal, and increase the amount of soybean oil produced per acre to help meet the demand for soybean oil in such produces as biofuels. We will continue to incorporate these traits into KS adapted varieties. Resistance to SCN continues to be dominanted by the PI 88788 source in both public and private soybean varieties, despite the fact that HG Type 2 SCN populations, which reproduce well on this source of resistance, now dominate the North Central Region, including Kansas. Several recent releases by the KSU Soybean Breeding Program have utilized sources of resistance other than PI 88788 that have proven to be resistant to diverse HG Type 2 populations from across Kansas. Additionally, novel sources of resistance, including resistance gene stacks are being developed by soybean breeders, and these new resistances need to be incorporated into Kansas soybean germplasm to provide more durable resistance in the future.

2. Develop, evaluate and implement breeding technologies. We are currently testing a genomic selection model developed at the Univ. of Minnesota. This research involves developing lines and populations, build training sets and optimize models for Kansas growing conditions. Remote sensing technology will be combined with genomic selection to improve the speed and accuracy of identifying superior breeding material for both yield and seed composition.

Focusing on the development and use of new technologies will help improve genetic gain across public and private breeding programs. Advances in genomics have made genotyping cost effective, but robust models must be capable of predicting phenotypic performance. We are working with the soybean breeders and geneticists in the North Central US to test the effectiveness of recurrent selection of F1 progeny in soybean using genomic selection to predict progeny performance. This method has the potential to improve selection accuracy, reduce the time required to develop new varieties and increase the performance of the progeny relative to current breeding methods. Here we propose to further develop our genomic selection capabilities and combine traditional phenotypic selection with genomic selection and remote sensing to help develop robust genomic selection methods for soybean breeding based on Kansas environments and Kansas germplasm. Also, we will use and validate marker assisted selection to compliment phenotyping of traits such as Soybean Cyst Nematode resistance.

3. Transfer transgenic events into elite breeding lines. For SCN resistant events, we will focus on incorporating transgenic traits into early MG4 lines with high yield potential from the KSU breeding program. Incorporating the transgenic traits into elite varieties with and without traditional sources of SCN resistance may help determine if there is any synergistic effect of multiple sources of SCN resistance. As events from the Dectes stem borer and the SDS resistance project are identified they will also be incorporated into appropriate elite varieties Presence of the transgene(s) in progeny will be determined using molecular markers. Lines will be rescreened for SCN resistance in greenhouse and field bioassays.

Field tests demonstrated lines expressing transgenes targeting nematode fitness decreased SCN cyst and egg numbers compared to non-transgenic controls. Breeding these lines with elite lines containing conventional sources of resistances would be important to determine if there is a synergistic effect by stacking resistance traits. Providing breeding programs with novel modes of resistance against both SCN and Fusarium virguliforme should help reduce the economical impact of these two organisms.

1. Develop soybean varieties and germplasm (Maturity groups 3, 4 and 5) for on-farm production and use as genetic resources for other breeders with public or private breeding programs, focusing on traits including:
a. seed yield
b. high oleic and low linolenic soybean oil,
c. stacked traits, including Soybean Cyst Nematode and Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome resistance, optimal protein and oil composition, and abiotic stress tolerance.
2. Improve genetic gain through the development, evaluation and implementation of breeding technologies including marker assisted selection, genomic selection and phenomics.
3. Transfer desirable transgenic events into elite breeding lines.

• Varieties and germplasm in MGs 3 through 5 developed from this program can be used by private soybean breeders to develop new varieties. Some releases can be used directly by farmers for commercial production.
• Germplasm exchange with private and public breeding programs.
• Genomic information and improved techniques to develop improved soybean varieties.
• Extension publications, news releases, and experiment station reports, field days, extension meetings and tours will be used to share the results of this project.
• Web pages used to disseminate information on new releases and germplasm.
• Improved recommendations for appropriate management strategies.
• Peer reviewed publications.
• Trained undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students.

Updated January 20, 2025:
Accomplishment 1: We completed the development and release of non-nodulating soybean
germplasm for research (see linked document for details).
Accomplishment 2: A total of 160 breeding lines and 27 KSVPT entries were screened for resistance to 3 diverse SCN populations during 2024 (~1,200 individual plants screened). Fourteen K-lines in our advanced trials possessed SCN resistance to 3 diverse SCN populations
common in KS (see linked document for details).
Accomplishment 3: Engaged in coordinated projects with USDA and state soybean researchers, plant breeders, geneticists, physiologists, plant pathologists, agronomists, computer scientists, electrical engineers and ag engineers to address genomic selection, disease resistance, high-throughput phenotyping, genotypic predictions, abiotic stress and seed composition challenges (see attached document for details).
Accomplishment 4: Fostered partnerships promoting germplasm sharing and collaborative field
evaluations including with private companies. A total of 11 new Material Transfer Agreements were completed in 2024 (see linked document for details).
Accomplishment 5: Finalized the completion of 3 peer-reviewed research publications (see linked document for details).
Accomplishment 6: Presented our research findings to our peers at the 2024 Agronomy Society of American Annual meetings (see linked document for details).
Accomplishment 7: Completed the 2024 field season which included several germplasm development and evaluation activities (see linked document).

View uploaded report

Updated October 2, 2025:
KANSAS SOYBEAN COMMISSION FINAL REPORT OF PROGRESS

Title: “Breeding soybean to improve climate and disease resilience and compositional quality”

Accomplishments for FY2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025)

Population and Germplasm Development
In 2025, about 100 new populations were created using more than 39 different parents. Over 60% of the single cross populations involved at least one parent resistant to soybean cyst nematode, several included drought and herbicide tolerance, and others incorporated novel traits such as reduced flower abortion or improved oil quality. Most of this work generates valuable germplasm and genetic tools that both public and private breeders can use to deliver new varieties. This ensures Kansas-developed germplasm remains in the commercial pipeline and ultimately reaches farmers.

Field Trials
The breeding program is currently evaluating more than 8,000 soybean genotypes planted in over 14,000 plots across Kansas. These evaluations include over 7,000 F4:5 progeny rows, providing the critical first look at early-generation material with potential to advance. Among these progeny, more than 2,000 lines were derived from high oleic parents to improve oil quality traits, while another 2,000 originated from slow-wilting or drought-tolerant parents aimed at improving resilience under water-limited conditions. In addition, more than 800 K-lines from maturity groups III through V are being tested in preliminary yield trials to identify promising candidates for advancement. Over 100 K-lines have progressed to the Kansas Advanced Yield Trials, which provide rigorous, multi-location testing under farmer-representative conditions. Beyond our program, over 230 breeding lines contributed by public programs nationwide, including 33 K-lines, are being tested in Uniform and cooperative trials across the U.S., providing an important measure of how Kansas germplasm performs relative to other breeding efforts. Finally, more than 400 experimental genotypes and plant introductions are under evaluation in specialized drought, remote sensing, and diversity yield trials, which are designed to expand genetic diversity and accelerate the identification of traits that will contribute to long-term yield stability and adaptability.

Variety Release
KS4525NS was officially released in FY25 as the latest public variety developed through the Kansas State University breeding program. The release notice and tables summarizing its multi-year performance across Kansas environments are shown in the attached document. While production of public varieties like KS4525NS is typically on a smaller commercial scale, the release plays an important role in advancing soybean improvement by making new genetics available to both farmers and breeders. The variety was licensed for commercial production, providing growers with an additional option for local adaptation, and it has also been exchanged with other breeding programs through material transfer agreements.

Germplasm Releases
After years of cooperative research, a valuable set of non-nodulating soybean lines has been developed through the joint efforts of the Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics and Department of Crop and Soil Sci., University of Georgia, the Crop Genetics Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Stoneville, Mississippi, and the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. The release announcement for this germplasm can be found in the attached document. This germplasm represents a unique and powerful resource for advancing our understanding of biological nitrogen fixation and nitrogen management in relation to soybean yield and seed composition. The lines have been deposited in the National Plant Germplasm System and are already being distributed to U.S. researchers, ensuring broad access to material that can drive both fundamental discoveries and practical advances in soybean improvement. A research article describing this work and germplasm has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Plant Registrations.

Breeding Technologies
• Genetic gain. Over the past several years we have worked to integrate spectral reflectance data into a predictive tool for yield. Spectral images were evaluated as predictors of soybean yield across multiple environments and years using a combination of mixed model and machine learning approaches. High-throughput reflectance measurements were collected with drone-based sensors at repeated sampling dates within each location, providing time-series data for a suite of vegetation indices including NDVI, NDRE, and related canopy metrics. Mixed linear models were used to generate BLUPs for both agronomic and spectral traits, incorporating genotype, location, and genotype × location effects while testing different strategies for aggregating spectral data across dates versus modeling each date individually. To extend beyond traditional variance-component methods, machine learning algorithms were applied to the spectral BLUPs to develop predictive models for yield, enabling comparisons of accuracy and robustness across environments. This integrated approach demonstrated that while prediction accuracy varied depending on trait, index, and environment, spectral reflectance data—particularly when combined with Machine Learning Methods—can capture genetic variation relevant to yield potential and provide a promising framework for accelerating early-generation selection in soybean breeding.

• Biotech traits. We have focused efforts on crossing two of our transgenic lines (hpRNAi-Y25 and hpRNAi-Prp17) for SCN resistance into Kansas adaptive lines that are both susceptible and moderately resistant to SCN Hg type 7 as well as crossing the two transgenes together. Currently we have F4 generations to test. We are also continuing our work on two events (hpRNAi-cytoP450 and hpRNAi-Lacc2) showing promise for Dectes stem borer tolerance. We were unable to acquire the proper field release permits for the summer of 2025 due to personnel changes within the USDA earlier this year. However, we have continued advancing these lines in the greenhouse and begun crossing these two lines into KS adaptive lines.

Drought and Heat Tolerance
• Abiotic stress. Data analysis continued on an a field experiment conducted in 2020, 2021 and 2022 to evaluate the response of a diversity panel of over 300 genotypes to heat stress. Phenotypic data collected included: days to physiological maturity (R8), seed quality, seed yield (kg/ha), seed weight (100 seed weight in grams), lodging, plant height (cm), and seed composition (oil, protein linoleic, linolenic, palmitic, stearic, raffinose, and sucrose concentrations). Genome-Wide Association and Genomic Prediction studies were conducted to identify genomic regions responsible for the phenotypic traits with the goal of developing improved heat-tolerant germplasm. These analyses should be completed in 2024.


Training, Outreach and Knowledge Dissemination
This project continues to strengthen both the soybean breeding pipeline and the broader agricultural community by training new scientists, engaging farmers, and contributing to the scientific literature. Multiple undergraduate students worked and trained with the breeding program throughout the year, while graduate students focused on applying remote sensing and machine learning to breeding research, and post-doctoral associates advance genomic evaluation and studies of physiological stress response. These training opportunities not only provide valuable research experience but also ensure a strong pipeline of future professionals in soybean improvement.

At the same time, project results are actively shared with producers and the scientific community. Findings are delivered through extension publications, news releases, radio interviews, experiment station reports, field days, extension meetings, and tours. Online resources provide up-to-date information on new germplasm releases, pest resistance, and results from SCN surveys, giving farmers practical insights for variety selection and management. Research on high temperature stress, host plant resistance, and SCN resistance is also disseminated at scientific conferences and through peer-reviewed publications.

Publications from FY25 include journal articles in Theoretical and Applied Genetics, Agronomy Journal, in silico Plants, and Crop Science, along with multiple abstracts presented at national meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, and the American Society of Plant Biologists. Together, these publications demonstrate the scientific rigor of the project and ensure that Kansas-led soybean research informs breeding and production decisions both locally and nationally.

Journal articles
Menke, Ethan, Clinton J. Steketee, Qijian Song, William T. Schapaugh, Thomas E. Carter Jr., Benjamin Fallen, and Zenglu Li. 2024. Genetic mapping reveals the complex genetic architecture controlling slow canopy wilting in soybean PI 471938. Theoretical and Applied Genetics DOI : 10.1007/s00122-024-04609-w.

Jenny Koebernick, Anne M. Gillen, Robert Fett, Sejal Patel, Ben Fallen, Vince Pantalone, Grover Shannon, Zenglu Li, Andrew Scaboo, William Schapaugh, Rouf Mian, Quentin D. 2024. Soybean test weight in relation to genotype, environment, and genotype × environment interaction in the Southern United States. Agronomy J. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.21551.

Chiozza, M.V., Parmley, K., Schapaugh, W.T., Asebedo, A.R., Singh, A.K. 2024. Changes in the leaf area-seed yield relationship in soybean driven by genetic, management, and environments: implications for high-throughput phenotyping. in silico Plants, 6(2): 123-135.

Wartha, C. A., Campbell, B. W., Ramasubramanian, V., Nice, L., Brock, A., Cai, G., Eskandari, M. M., Graef, G., Hudson, M. E., Hyten, D., Mahan, A. L., Martin, N. F., McHale, L., Miranda, C., Dominguez, E. M., Nelson, R., Rainey, K., Rajcan, I., Scaboo, A., … Lorenz, A. J. (2025). Genomic analysis and predictive modeling in the Northern Uniform Soybean Tests. Crop Science, 65, e70138. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70138.

Abstracts
U.C. Jha, S. Saffi, D. Chatti, W.T. Schapaugh, R. Welti, and P.V.V. Prasad. 2024. Transcriptome and Lipidome Dynamics of Soybean Floral Buds Under Heat Stress. American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Midwest Section Meeting, March 16-17, 2024, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Lima, J. E., Bolouri, F., Awan, A. S., Pramanik, S., Sari-Sarraf, H., Caragea, D., Turner, C., Dhandapani, R., Schapaugh, W. T. Jr., Ahmad, N., Ichinose, Y., Saini, D. K., Bangari, M. P. S., Bardhan, K., Mehla, M. K., Ye, H., Nguyen, H. T., Patil, G., Shekoofa, A., Fischel, L., Cruz, A., Somayanda, I., & Jagadish, K. (2024) Soybean Phenotyping Under Irrigated and Drought Conditions: A Machine Learning Approach for Flower and Pod Counting [Abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2024am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/161863.

Chatti, D., Walta, D., Todd, T., Ikeogu, U., Rainey, K. M., McHale, L., & Schapaugh, W. T. Jr. (2024) Phenotypic Selection for Seed Yield Using Spectral Imagery in Soybean Progeny Rows [Abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2024am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/159654.

Chatti, D., Schapaugh, W. T. Jr., Bakshi, A., Caragea, D., & Prasad, P. V. V. (2024) High Throughput Phenotyping to Evaluate Post Flowering Heat Tolerance in Soybean Using Pollen Germination [Abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2024am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/159051.

Schapaugh, W. T. Jr., Ikeogu, U., Hessel, R., Li, Z., Ray, J. D., & Purcell, L. C. (2024) Non-Nodulating and Nodulating Isolines Developed from Two Donor Sources and an Elite Soybean Cultivar [Abstract]. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2024am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/158977.

Acknowledgments
We sincerely thank Kansas soybean farmers for your continued support of this project through the Kansas Soybean Commission. The faculty, graduate students, post-doctoral scientists, and staff involved in this work all recognize that your checkoff dollars make this research possible. Because of your investment, we can develop new soybean germplasm, test innovative tools, and generate information that directly addresses the challenges you face in the field.

Your support allows us to stay focused on problems that matter most to Kansas agriculture—managing pests like soybean cyst nematode, improving tolerance to drought and heat, and enhancing seed quality traits that add value in the marketplace. While some of our varieties are released on a smaller scale, the germplasm, knowledge, and training produced by this program strengthen both public and private breeding pipelines. That means the improvements we make here ultimately reach your farms through better genetics and more resilient varieties.

On behalf of the entire team, thank you for trusting us with this responsibility. We value the opportunity to work for you, and we are committed to ensuring that every dollar invested in this program returns benefits to Kansas soybean farmers, now and in the years ahead.

View uploaded report

Final Project Results

Breeding Soybean to Improve Climate and Disease Resilience and Compositional Quality
Kansas Soybean Commission – FY2025

Introduction

Soybeans are a cornerstone of Kansas agriculture, but farmers face growing challenges from pests, diseases, and extreme weather. This project, supported by the Kansas Soybean Commission, focused on developing soybean lines and tools to make soybeans more resilient to drought, heat, and diseases while also improving seed quality traits such as protein and oil. The project also trained future scientists and shared findings directly with farmers and the scientific community.

Key Accomplishments

Building Better Genetic Resources

In 2025, the breeding program created about 100 new soybean populations using more than 39 different parents. Over 60% of these new populations included at least one parent with resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN), the most damaging soybean pest in the U.S. Others included parents with drought tolerance, herbicide tolerance, or improved oil quality. While most Kansas farmers do not plant public soybean varieties directly, the germplasm developed here becomes a vital resource for other breeding programs, ensuring that Kansas traits make their way into the commercial pipeline.

Large-Scale Field Testing

More than 8,000 soybean genotypes were planted in over 14,000 plots across Kansas. This included:

Over 7,000 early-generation lines, many with traits like drought tolerance or high oleic oil for improved quality.

More than 800 K-lines tested in preliminary trials.

Over 100 K-lines tested in the Kansas Advanced Yield Trials, providing rigorous evaluation under farmer-like conditions.

230 breeding lines from across the U.S. tested in Uniform and cooperative trials, including 33 from Kansas.

Over 400 lines tested in specialized drought, remote sensing, and diversity trials.

These evaluations help identify the best candidates for future breeding and ensure Kansas varieties are competitive nationally.

Variety and Germplasm Releases

KS4525NS, a new soybean variety, was officially released in FY25. Though public varieties are produced on a smaller commercial scale, KS4525NS demonstrates the success of the program and provides farmers with another option adapted to Kansas conditions. Importantly, it has also been shared with other breeding programs so its traits can contribute to future improvements.

A unique set of non-nodulating soybean lines was released through cooperation with other universities and USDA. These lines help researchers better understand biological nitrogen fixation and nitrogen management in soybeans. They have been deposited into the National Plant Germplasm System, ensuring long-term access for researchers and breeders nationwide.

New Breeding Tools and Technologies

Drones and Remote Sensing: Drone-mounted sensors collected images of soybean plots across multiple dates, capturing information about plant health and stress before it could be seen with the naked eye. These data were analyzed using machine learning models to predict yield and select the most promising lines earlier in the breeding cycle.

Biotech Traits: Experimental lines carrying new forms of SCN resistance and tolerance to Dectes stem borer were advanced in greenhouse and breeding tests. While regulatory delays prevented field testing in 2025, work continues to move these traits into Kansas-adapted varieties.

Heat and Drought Tolerance: Multi-year trials of over 300 genotypes measured yield, seed quality, and other traits under high heat. Genomic tools are being applied to identify markers that can be used to accelerate breeding for stress tolerance.

Training and Outreach

Multiple undergraduate students, two graduate students, and two post-doctoral researchers worked on this project, gaining hands-on experience with advanced tools like machine learning and genomic selection.

Results were shared with farmers through field days, extension meetings, news releases, and radio interviews, as well as with scientists at national conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.

Benefits to Farmers

While most Kansas soybean farmers may not plant public varieties directly, this project delivers real benefits in several ways:

Innovation Pipeline: Germplasm and knowledge developed here feed into both public and private breeding programs, helping ensure that commercial varieties available to Kansas farmers include traits like SCN resistance, drought tolerance, and better oil quality.

Resilience to Stress: With Kansas weather becoming more unpredictable, developing soybeans that can handle drought and heat is critical to stabilizing yields and protecting profitability.

Pest and Disease Resistance: By diversifying resistance sources for SCN and developing new biotech approaches, this project reduces the risk of yield loss from pests and diseases.

Training the Next Generation: Farmers’ checkoff dollars support the education and training of future scientists who will carry soybean improvement forward.

Faster Breeding Progress: Advanced tools like drones, remote sensing, and machine learning shorten the time it takes to deliver improved soybean varieties.

Conclusion

This project shows how farmer investment through the Kansas Soybean Commission pays off. By combining traditional breeding with cutting-edge technologies, we are developing soybean varieties and germplasm that are better able to withstand pests, diseases, and Kansas weather extremes. At the same time, we are ensuring that this progress is shared broadly through collaboration with other breeders, publications, and training of new scientists.

Although many of the benefits are indirect, the impact is significant: Kansas farmers ultimately gain access to improved genetics, better tools for managing production risks, and varieties that keep Kansas soybeans competitive in national and global markets.

On behalf of the entire team, we thank Kansas soybean farmers for your continued support. Your investment ensures that soybean breeding remains strong in Kansas, delivering both immediate and long-term benefits to your farms and communities.

This public soybean breeding and genetics program is focused on developing varieties, germplasm and genetic resources that could be used directly by farmers for production, or by other soybean breeders and researchers. Many of the benefits to farmers would be indirect but still significant. Here's how:

Increased Innovation and Variety Development: By providing improved germplasm and genetic resources to other breeders, this program contributes to the overall innovation and progress in soybean breeding and genetics. This, in turn, can lead to the development of new soybean varieties with enhanced traits that are better suited to farmers' needs, such as higher yields, disease resistance, and stress tolerance.

Access to Advanced Traits: Farmers benefit from access to soybean varieties developed by other breeders who utilize the germplasm and genetic resources provided by this project. These varieties may offer improved traits, such as better oil quality, herbicide resistance, reduced susceptibility to pests and diseases, and enhanced adaptability to local growing conditions.

Diversification of Genetic Pool: The availability of diverse germplasm from our project enables other breeders to broaden the genetic diversity of their breeding programs. This can result in the development of soybean varieties with increased resilience to environmental stresses, improved diseases resistance, or other traits, which ultimately benefits farmers by reducing production risks and improving yield stability.

Cost-Effectiveness: Utilizing germplasm and genetic resources from our public research program can be more cost-effective for other breeders compared to developing these resources independently. This cost savings can be passed on to farmers in the form of more affordable varieties or investments in further research and development.

Collaborative Research and Knowledge Sharing: Our breeding and genetics program fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing among researchers, geneticists and breeders. This collaborative environment accelerates the pace of innovation and facilitates the exchange of best practices, leading to more rapid development and dissemination of improved soybean varieties, germplasm and genetic resources benefitting farmers.

While the benefits of our public soybean breeding and genetics program may not be directly realized by farmers in the same way as with private breeding programs, the indirect impacts are substantial. By contributing to the development of improved soybean varieties, germplasm, and breeding methodology, and fostering collaboration within the breeding and genetics community, public programs like ours play a critical role in advancing agricultural productivity, sustainability, and resilience, ultimately benefiting farmers and the broader agricultural sector.