Soybeans are the world's largest source of animal protein feed and the second largest source of vegetable oil. The United States is the leading soybean producer and exporter. Farmers need to have high yielding cultivars developed specifically for adaptation to the Georgia and Southeast. Increasing yield and reducing the cost of production is imperative to increase soybean production in the Southeast. The most effective strategy to accomplish these goals is to develop high
yielding, multiple-disease and pest resistant cultivars with value-enhanced traits.