The soybean cyst nematode (SCN) remains the most important, economically limiting threat to soybean growers in the North Central U.S., and yield losses will continue to increase in the near future. In recent years, an increase in the occurrence of aggressive SCN populations that can feed and reproduce on resistant varieties has been widely documented throughout the North Central United States (Faghihi et al. 2010, Howland et al. 2018, Niblack et al. 2003, Niblack et al. 2008). With only one readily available commercial source of resistance to SCN (PI 88788), this trend will continue and expose growers to levels of yield loss from SCN that have not occurred since the 1980’s. Evidence from >25,000 field research plots 15 years of SCN-resistant variety evaluations demonstrates that a 23% yield reduction (14.1 bu/ac) is expected when PI 88788 has lost effectiveness (McCarville et al. 2017). In addition, losses from other plant-parasitic nematodes and pathogens that interact with SCN deliver an economic hit to growers that limit profitability.

Eight years ago, a public-private partnership called “The SCN Coalition” was formed, with the objective to help growers reduce their risk to the yield threat posed by the breakdown of SCN resistance by actively managing SCN. Recently, that mission has expanded to include other plant-parasitic nematodes that attack soybean and plant pathogens that interact with SCN. To date, partners include nine agrochemical companies, over two dozen universities and state, regional and national checkoff organizations. Critically, development and success of The SCN Coalition is directly linked to support from the NCSRP. The NSCRP resources have been leveraged extensively to secure direct financial support from the United Soybean Board (USB) and private corporate partners that support complementary SCN Coalition activities and additional highly significant in-kind support from the private sector. To date, that leverage has built total support (direct and in-kind) for the SCN Coalition of nearly $15M (approximately $1.9M NCSRP, $2.2M USB, $1.3M private partner direct financial support, and $9.5M private partner in-kind support).

Since its launch, the SCN Coalition has generated more than 80 million potential impressions through agricultural media, more than 8 million potential impressions on social media and the ‘Let’s Talk Todes’ program generated over 2 million views. Between 2015 and 2020, an increase of 6% to 18% more U.S. soybean growers reported utilizing tools to actively manage SCN. Using conservative estimates, the economics value of the increase in active management is >$100M gains annually for U.S. soybean growers.

Despite great improvements in understanding and management, data suggests large numbers of growers (in most cases the majority) can still improve their yield by incorporating active management tools. Additionally, the private and public sectors are making significant advancements in research, and we believe those advances need to be made more visible to growers in order to get them to quickly adopt and economically benefit from their usage as they become available.

In this proposal, we seek to build on the success of The SCN Coalition to focus on the economics of SCN, research advances in SCN management, and continue to expand information on other nematodes and pathogens that interact with SCN.

1. SCN Coalition Partner Relations and Recruitment.
2. SCN Coalition Management.
3. SCN Coalition Ongoing Communications.

For Objective 1. Maintaining relationships with the nine current industry partners (BASF, Bayer, Corteva, Growmark, Nufarm, Syngenta, UPL, Valent, Winfield United) and continued recruiting of new partners are critical for consistent and coordinated messaging, and sustaining financial support.

For Objective 2. Support SCN Coalition leadership to participate in and facilitate core team and committee meetings and calls; to update Coalition training presentations and other educational materials as research progresses; to develop new educational materials as needed (i.e., PI mailings, banners and signage, online tracking tools, etc.) for SCN Coalition land-grant university members; and to continue consensus-building efforts and support for the feedback loop among all members of The SCN Coalition as it grows and evolves in 2024. These activities will include partners from checkoff organizations, industry and academic institutions.

For Objective 3. Ongoing communications efforts include arranging print, radio and TV interviews for Coalition leaders in ag media outlets; cooperating with ag media outlets to provide custom SCN information and resources as requested; coordinating with Coalition leaders and other researchers to develop topics for news releases, articles, position papers, our monthly e-newsletter and three-times-weekly social media efforts; and outreach to existing and new potential media partners. We propose updating The SCN Coalition University Experts website pages, allowing experts to incorporate information about Southern root-knot, reniform and lesion nematodes into their recommendations to advance active soybean-parasitic nematode management and protect soybean yields. This new content will be promoted via press releases and media relations, as well as the Coalition’s social media channels.

Updated October 30, 2024:
Progress Report: The SCN Coalition: Building on the Impact of the Public-Private Partnership
Date: March 27, 2024
Prepared by: Sam Markell, North Dakota State University

Background

The SCN Coalition is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of soybean checkoff, private companies and universities. The mission of The SCN Coalition is to conduct an SCN resistance management and awareness campaign to educate growers and industry on the reality of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance development, to slow the development of highly aggressive SCN populations, and to minimize increasing levels of yield loss. The North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) provides foundational funding that has led to one of the largest and most effective PPPs ever developed to manage an agricultural pest. NCSRP’s funds allow for the communications and management of partner relations that makes The SCN Coalition work.

Below, we present updates on The SCN Coalition activities in three parts; I) Mission and Activities in FY2024, II) Outputs and Outcomes in FY2024 and III) Planning Beyond FY2024.



Part I. Mission and Activities in FY2024 (and relevant activities leading up to FY2024)

To accomplish our mission, we aim to increase active management of SCN, and encourage growers to talk to their crop advisors about the four primary management actions (soil testing, rotation, resistance, seed treatments) so they can develop a strategy that best fits their farm. We have leveraged NCSRP funding from multiple sources; all funding is complementary and not codependent. Funding from the NCSRP supports the communication and partner relations of The SCN Coalition (it is central to everything The SCN Coalition does). Leveraged funding received from corporate private partners supports primarily national activities of The SCN Coalition. As examples, in FY2022, this included the “SCN Root Check” campaign sponsored by Valent, “Talking Todes Together with BASF” and media relations at the Farm Progress Show to showcase BASF’s SCN Action Month program. In FY2023, these included the development of the SCN Profit Checker Tool (funded by USB), and declaration of Oct. 2, 2023 as National Nematode Day (NND) (fully funded by Bayer, BASF, Nufarm, and Syngenta). Throughout, in-kind funding from private corporate partners (media, advertising, etc.) multiplies The SCN Coalition messages. Some aforementioned projects are still being conducted or expanded upon in FY2024.

In April 2024, The SCN Coalition will hold hour-long virtual meetings with its private partners to provide updates on its results and activities and discuss ways their direct and indirect funding can support the mission and activities of The SCN Coalition. Also in April, The SCN Coalition anticipates at least two virtual update sessions for our University colleagues to ensure coordination of activities and discuss ways to leverage Coalition strengths for local growers. Updates to NCSRP and USB staff/leadership will be made as needed (or requested). Throughout the remainder of the project cycle, The SCN Coalition anticipates direct and/or leveraged activities may include; an expansion of the Profit Checker Tool, engagement with Agricultural Media and social media, press releases, support of partner activities (such as SCN Awareness month) and more.

Part II. Outputs and Outcomes in FY2024

Select Summary Highlights

Online coverage associated with Southern Root Knot Map, National Nematode Day, SCN Profit Checker, SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action, and Novel Discovery Could Fortify Farmers’ Defenses Against SCN releases have generated 3.5 million potential online impressions in ag media. The SCN Coalition has seen an increase in new visitors to TheSCNCoalition.com, with 44,976 new users in FY2024. We anticipate SCN sample increases in member states as a result of the tool and four videos promoting SCN Profit Checker.

Media and Communication

Media and communication activities have continued steadily through the first half of this cycle. Media results since the launch of The SCN Coalition in February 2018 to February 29, 2024:
• The SCN Coalition has been mentioned in 1,005 online articles, resulting in 41.8 million potential online impressions, which represents 11.43% of the total share of online discussion of SCN.
• A total of 227 articles in print publications results in a total of 21.7 million potential impressions.
• Broadcast outreach exceeds 316 million. (Most stations don’t provide potential reach/impressions.)
• Let’s Talk Todes video series resulted in more than 2 million views.
During the first part of FY2024, three news releases have been distributed to ag media:
• Marketing National Nematode Day with $500 Sweepstakes Drawings (Distributed Oct. 2, 2023; 21% open rate, 5 online articles, 213,145 potential impressions. Combined with the FY2023 National Nematode Day release distribution, there have been 25 online articles, resulting in 1.4 million potential online impressions.)
• SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action* (Distributed Dec. 11, 2023; 37% open rate, 14 online articles, 516,752 potential online impressions.)
• Novel Discovery Could Fortify Farmers’ Defenses Against SCN (GmSNAP02 gene discovery) (Distributed Jan. 30, 2024; 33% open rate, 28 online articles, 1.4 million potential online impressions.)
*Thirteen (13) of the 14 “SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action” articles also mention The SCN Coalition Profit Checker calculator; 514,802 of “SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action” news release coverage potential reach added to SCN Profit Checker potential reach increases SCN Profit Checker potential online impressions (for FY2024) to 1,853,016.

SCN Website and Social Metrics

The SCN Coalition has seen an increase in new visitors to TheSCNCoalition.com, with 44,976 total new users Oct. 1, 2023 – Feb. 29, 2024. Total website users Oct. 1, 2018 – Feb. 29, 2024, is 160,074.

The SCN Coalition continues to grow our social media presence, garnering the following potential impressions and new followers Oct. 1, 2023 – Feb. 29, 2024:
• X, formerly known as Twitter: 723,600 impressions Oct. 1, 2023 – (February 29) March 1, 2024.
• Facebook: 2,387,374 impressions Oct. 1, 2023 – (February 29) March 1, 2024.
• LinkedIn: 752,326 impressions Oct. 1, 2023 – (February 29) March 1, 2024.
• X, formerly known as Twitter: 25 (X is not providing data for November/December 2023) new followers: Oct. 1, 2023 – (February 29) March 1, 2024.
• Facebook: 43 new followers Oct. 1, 2023 – (February 29) March 1, 2024.
• LinkedIn: 150 new followers Oct. 1, 2023 – (February 29) March 1, 2024.

Google Ads

• 34,827 impressions; 3.08% average click-through rate.

Awards

In January, The SCN Coalition was awarded the Region 3 Best of NAMA (National Agri-Marketing Association) Merit award for ‘Unique Sponsored Campaign – National Nematode Day.’ The entry is now being considered for a national title at the awards ceremony scheduled for April 24, 2024. NAMA is the largest agri-marketing association in the U.S.

Part III. Planning beyond FY2024

Recently, a complementary and non-codependent proposal (FY2025) has been submitted to the United Soybean Board. USB has not yet notified PI’s of the status. The proposal, titled ‘Uniting expertise and innovative learning tools to combat parasitic nematodes in soybean, focuses on developing educational materials that reflect current knowledge and recommendations on economically important soybean nematodes, including root-knot (RKN), reniform, lesion, and soybean cyst nematodes (SCN). This continues the evolution of the SCN Coalition to include other nematodes and nematode-interacting soybean pathogens of soybean.

In the next month, private-partner meetings will be held. In recent years, these meetings have resulted in the development of novel programs and collaborations, and commitments for direct and indirect funding and support for The SCN Coalition activities. Commonly, spring meetings will result in activities and outcomes into the next fiscal year (FY2025). We are hopeful for strong future NCSRP-leveraged and coordinated activities with our excellent private sector partners!

View uploaded report

Updated October 30, 2024:
Final Report: The SCN Coalition: Building on the impact of the public-private partnership

Date: October 30, 2024

Prepared by: Sam Markell, NDSU

Background
The SCN Coalition is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of soybean checkoff, private companies and universities. The mission of The SCN Coalition is to conduct an SCN resistance management and awareness campaign to educate growers and industry on the reality of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance development, to slow the development of highly aggressive SCN populations, and to minimize increasing levels of yield loss. The North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) provides foundational funding that has led to one of the largest and most effective PPPs ever developed to manage an agricultural pest. NCSRP’s funds allow for the communications and management of partner relations that makes The SCN Coalition work.

Below are updates on The SCN Coalition activities in three sections: Mission and Activities in FY2024, Outputs and Outcomes in FY2024 and Planning Beyond FY2024.

Mission and Activities in FY2024 (and relevant activities leading up to FY2025)

To accomplish our mission, we aim to increase active management of SCN, and encourage growers to talk to their crop advisors about the four primary management actions (soil testing, rotation, resistance, seed treatments) so they can develop a strategy that best fits their farm. We have leveraged NCSRP funding from multiple sources; all funding is complementary and not codependent. Funding from the NCSRP supports the communication and partner relations of The SCN Coalition (it is central to everything The SCN Coalition does). Leveraged funding received from corporate private partners supports primarily national activities of The SCN Coalition. As examples, in FY2022, this included the “SCN Root Check” campaign sponsored by Valent, “Talking Todes Together with BASF” and media relations at the Farm Progress Show to showcase BASF’s SCN Action Month program. In FY2023, these included the development of the SCN Profit Checker Tool (funded by USB), and declaration ofOctober 2, 2023, as National Nematode Day (NND) (fully funded by Bayer, BASF, Nufarm and Syngenta). And in FY2024, October 1, 2024, was designated as National Nematode Day, fully funded by Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, and a video shoot was sponsored by Valent that provided educational materials about the resistance problem and active SCN management tactics. Throughout, in-kind funding from private corporate partners (media, advertising, etc.) multiplies The SCN Coalition messages. Some aforementioned projects are still being conducted or expanded upon in FY2025.

In April 2024, The SCN Coalition held hour-long virtual meetings with its private partners to provide updates on its results and activities and discuss ways their direct and indirect funding can support the mission and activities of The SCN Coalition. Also in April, The SCN Coalition held virtual update sessions for our university colleagues to ensure coordination of activities and discuss ways to leverage Coalition strengths for local growers. Updates to NCSRP and USB staff/leadership were made as needed (or requested). In all updates, the current SCN Coalition leadership made a concerted effort to slowly, carefully and transparently inform all partners as we fully transition the leadership roles of Drs. Sam Markell and Greg Tylka to Drs. Dylan Mangel, Horacio Lopez-Nicora and Tristan Watson. Current leaders Drs. George Bird, Carl Bradley and Albert Tenuta remain in the leadership circle, and ensure further stability. Throughout the remainder of the project cycle, The SCN Coalition leveraged activities to expand the use of the SCN Profit Checker tool, engagement with agricultural media and social media, press releases, support of partner activities (such as SCN Action Month in October sponsored by BASF) and more.

SCN Profit Checker

The SCN Profit Checker Tool was conceived approximately two years ago and direct support from USB became active in FY2023 for its development. In December 2022, an advisory council of select growers and industry representatives was formed to provide input on user experience of the Beta version of the tool. A series of in-person and virtual meetings with university research and extension faculty, private corporate partners and stakeholders were held to inform them of the tool and consult on communication plans.

In 2023, The SCN Coalition and partners developed the first interactive calculator for estimating the economics of SCN management on an individual field basis. The SCN Coalition private industry partners validated and demonstrated SCN Profit Checker to growers and the industry that supports them. As a result, in FY2024, we expected the growers’ investment would deliver them (and other soybean stakeholders): 1) an increased understanding of the economic threat presented by SCN, 2) a field-specific tool that provides guidance on active SCN management, and 3) a reduction in losses from the most yield-limiting pathogen of soybeans in the United States. A press release announcing the debut of the SCN Profit Checker, New Tool from The SCN Coalition Reveals the Pest’s Financial Toll, was distributed Sept. 11, 2023. Social media posts, digital and Google ads, an infographic, and promo video were developed to promote the tool.

Promotion continued in FY2024, with press releases and media outreach conducted to encourage growers to visit the tool. At the end of FY2024, the number of potential earned media impressions is 15.6 million, including a cover story in the Summer 2024 issue of Progressive Farmer. The total number of SCN Profit Checker Calculator users has increased to 68,824, with an average session duration of 1:20.

National Nematode Day

The SCN Coalition and sponsors Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, gave their target audience a reason to pay attention and dedicate a day directed toward soybean cyst nematode (SCN) by declaring
October 1, 2024, National Nematode Day (NND). The SCN Coalition used NND to spread awareness about SCN across digital, social and ag media channels. A giveaway driving users to the NND webpage paired with innovative social media posts and digital ads helped spread awareness and drive engagement. NND was made possible by support leveraged from this NCSRP project, this included direct support from the three private corporate partners ($45,000) plus additional leveraged in-kind (media) support.

Design and Execution
• Content calendar
o Developed a comprehensive social media calendar educating the audience on SCN and their impact on soybean production.
o Incorporated existing resources created by The SCN Coalition, such as videos and active SCN management guides, into the social media calendar.
o Invested in social media promotion across Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
• “Are you smarter than a nematode?” Quizzes and Sweepstakes
o Deployed a new quiz on nematodes each of the three weeks leading up to NND, with a weekly $500 sweepstakes incentivizing participation. Expanded signups for The SCN Coalition newsletter via post-quiz prompt.
o Unveiled quiz answers via Friday videos featuring experts with The SCN Coalition.
o Promoted the quiz with digital ads and social media. Each company sponsored a week of digital ads promoting the quiz.
o Encouraged audience to follow @TheSCNCoaltion on social media and use #NematodeDay.
• Press release and media outreach
o Winners were announced in an October 1, 2024, “National Nematode Day: Why These Tiny Worms Are Such a Big Deal” release to trade media and published on The SCN Coalition website. Media impressions results will be provided in FY2025 reports, but to date, there have been 44 online articles, including daily industry e-newsletter distributions, resulting in 781,844 potential impressions.
o Trained spokespeople on NND messaging provided resources for promotion of the day in their university/extension newsletters, and scheduled media interviews.
• Banner Ads
o Used banner ads with clear, persuasive copy to highlight the campaign and prompt click-thru to the campaign webpage and further engagement.
o Targeted the ads to farmers, agronomists and agriculture industry professionals using audiences tailored for each platform.
• National Nematode Day Webpage
o Created an SEO-optimized webpage where the target audience could take the quizzes and watch answer videos.
o Provided comprehensive information about SCN, helping the target audience understand the threat to yields and profits.

Results
• Are You Smarter Than a Nematode Sweepstakes Draws 446 Entries
o The three weeks leading up to NND featured quizzes about SCN and other parasitic nematodes that impact soybean production.
o Participants had a chance to win a weekly $500 sweepstakes and were prompted to sign up for The SCN Coalition’s newsletter.
, including 446 sweepstakes entries and 221 e-newsletter opt-ins.
• Digital Ads and Videos Reach 614,000
o Each company involved with the campaign sponsored a week of digital ads promoting the quiz, reaching 411,764 soybean farmers, agronomists and crop consultants.
o Videos unveiling answers to the quizzes reached 202,479 in the target audience; they were shared on social media, the NND webpage and YouTube. YouTube: 32 second average view duration; 42.4% video completion rate. Kickoff video was the most viewed ad content, with 69.4K impressions.
• Social Media Generates 1.1+ Million Impressions
o The audience was encouraged to follow @TheSCNCoalition on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn and to use #NematodeDay. Social media efforts across Facebook, X and LinkedIn resulted in nearly 12.4K link clicks.
Facebook: 685,516 million impressions, 2,970 engagements and 8,079 link clicks. LinkedIn: 470,890 impressions, 4,280 engagements and 4,276 link clicks. X: 7,194 impressions, 248 engagements and 0 link clicks.
• Earned Media Generates 781,844 million potential online impressions
o A variety of ag media ran the press releases, including American Ag Network, Farm Progress and Successful Farming, and the October 1, 2024, DTN/Progressive Farmer “Production Blog” featured nematodes.
o Experts with the SCN Coalition conducted interviews with Agriculture of America, Brownfield Ag News and RFD-TV. Potential broadcast impressions exceeded 1 million.
• National Nematode Day Webpage Dominates Web Traffic
o 23K page views from September 1 to October 2; users took the quiz, watched the answer videos and had access to educational materials about active SCN management. 75% of all users were new to the SCN website.

Outputs and Outcomes in FY2024

Select Summary Highlights

Online coverage associated with Southern Root Knot Map, National Nematode Day (FY2023 NND coverage), SCN Profit Checker, SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action, Novel Discovery Could Fortify Farmers’ Defenses Against SCN, Best of NAMA – NND, and Mitchum Research Discovery releases have generated 4.2 million potential online impressions in ag media. The SCN Coalition has seen an increase in new visitors to TheSCNCoalition.com, with 44,976 new users in FY2024. We anticipate SCN sample increases in member states as a result of the tool and four videos promoting SCN Profit Checker.

Media and Communication

Media and communication activities have continued steadily through FY2024. Media results since the launch of The SCN Coalition in February 2018 to September 30, 2024:
• The SCN Coalition has been mentioned in 1,066 online articles, resulting in 42.5 million potential online impressions, which represents 11.08% of the total share of online discussion of SCN.
• A total of 271 articles in print publications results in a total of 25.8 million potential impressions.
• Broadcast outreach exceeds 316 million. (Most stations don’t provide potential reach/impressions.)
• Let’s Talk Todes video series resulted in more than 2 million views.
A combination of traditional and social media dramatically increased the reach of The SCN Coalition in FY2024. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Marketing National Nematode Day with $500 Sweepstakes Drawings (Distributed Oct. 2, 2023; 21% open rate, 5 online articles, 213,145 potential impressions. Combined with the FY2023 National Nematode Day release distribution, there have been 25 online articles, resulting in 1.4 million potential online impressions.)
• SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action* (Distributed Dec. 11, 2023; 37% open rate, 16 online articles, 603,812 potential online impressions.)
• Novel Discovery Could Fortify Farmers’ Defenses Against SCN (GmSNAP02 gene discovery) (Distributed Jan. 30, 2024; 33% open rate, 31 online articles, 1.5 million potential online impressions.)
• The SCN Coalition Wins NAMA Award for National Nematode Day (Distributed April 29, 2024; 31% open rate, 19 online articles, 78,139 potential online impressions.)
• Breakthrough Discovery Opens New Doors in SCN Management (Melissa Mitchum – Research on the genetics of SCN) (Distributed Aug. 21, 2024; 30% open rate, 37 online article, 396,549 potential online impressions.)
*Thirteen (13) of the 14 “SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action” articles also mention The SCN Coalition Profit Checker calculator; 514,802 of “SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action” news release coverage potential reach added to SCN Profit Checker potential reach increases SCN Profit Checker potential online impressions (for FY2024) to 1,853,016.
• 31 Media interviews were conducted with SCN Coalition leaders following distribution of press releases.

SCN Website and Social Metrics

The SCN Coalition has seen an increase in new visitors to TheSCNCoalition.com, with 99,100 total new users in FY2024 (October 2023 – September 2024). Total website users October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2024, is 175,430.

The SCN Coalition continues to grow our social media presence, garnering the following potential impressions and new followers October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024:
• X: 131,500 impressions in FY2024; 250 new followers in FY2024.
• Facebook: 4,752,653 impressions in FY2024; 86 new followers in FY2024.
• LinkedIn: 1,728,904 impressions in FY2024; 449 new followers in FY2024.

Google Ads

• 73,745 impressions with a 3.66% average click-through rate (above industry average).

Awards

In January 2024, The SCN Coalition’s 2023 National Nematode Day campaign, sponsored by BASF, Bayer, Nufarm and Syngenta won a Merit (second place) award in the Unique Sponsorship Campaign category at the Regional III NAMA awards ceremony, and in April, was the recipient of the first-place award at the National Award ceremony. NAMA is the largest agri-marketing association in the United States.

Planning beyond FY2024

A complementary and non-codependent proposal (FY2025) was submitted to the United Soybean Board and approved for FY2025. The proposal, titled “Uniting expertise and innovative learning tools to combat parasitic nematodes in soybean,” focuses on developing educational materials that reflect current knowledge and recommendations on economically important soybean nematodes, including root-knot (RKN), reniform, lesion and SCN. This continues the evolution of The SCN Coalition to include other nematodes and nematode-interacting soybean pathogens.

Private-partner meetings will be held. In recent years, these meetings have resulted in the development of novel programs and collaborations, and commitments for direct and indirect funding and support for The SCN Coalition activities. Commonly, spring meetings will result in activities and outcomes into the FY2025. We are hopeful for strong future NCSRP-leveraged and coordinated activities with our excellent private sector partners! In fact, in November, Coalition leadership is meeting with a potential new private partner.

The PPP continues to be the greatest source of strength for The SCN Coalition. Nine agrochemical companies, two dozen universities, and state, regional and national soybean checkoff organizations make up the core of the PPP. Additional partners like ag media, QSSB and others also make great contributions and contribute to the previous success and future activities of The SCN Coalition. In aggregate, the estimated direct funding of The SCN Coalition to date is estimated at more than $6.2M and the in-direct support estimated to be $15M.

Acknowledgements

The SCN Coalition is a true public-private partnership that could not have been established had it not been for the financial support and foresight of the NCSRP. Their heavily leveraged investment has resulted in outputs far greater than any one partner could have produced. We thank the NCSRP and the QSSB’s that support the NCSRP.

Personal Gratitude

On behalf of Dr. Greg Tylka and myself (who now transition out as leaders of the SCN Coalition), we personally thank the amazing leadership of the NCSRP, including the elected farmer board of directors, executive director Dr. Ed Anderson, and all the staff involved. Our work with the SCN Coalition has been a highlight of our careers. It is an honor to work for the soybean farmers of our great country, and we are forever grateful for your faith in us.

View uploaded report

Final Report: The SCN Coalition: Building on the impact of the public-private partnership

Date: October 30, 2024

Prepared by: Sam Markell, NDSU

Background
The SCN Coalition is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of soybean checkoff, private companies and universities. The mission of The SCN Coalition is to conduct an SCN resistance management and awareness campaign to educate growers and industry on the reality of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance development, to slow the development of highly aggressive SCN populations, and to minimize increasing levels of yield loss. The North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) provides foundational funding that has led to one of the largest and most effective PPPs ever developed to manage an agricultural pest. NCSRP’s funds allow for the communications and management of partner relations that makes The SCN Coalition work.

Below are updates on The SCN Coalition activities in three sections: Mission and Activities in FY2024, Outputs and Outcomes in FY2024 and Planning Beyond FY2024.

Mission and Activities in FY2024 (and relevant activities leading up to FY2025)

To accomplish our mission, we aim to increase active management of SCN, and encourage growers to talk to their crop advisors about the four primary management actions (soil testing, rotation, resistance, seed treatments) so they can develop a strategy that best fits their farm. We have leveraged NCSRP funding from multiple sources; all funding is complementary and not codependent. Funding from the NCSRP supports the communication and partner relations of The SCN Coalition (it is central to everything The SCN Coalition does). Leveraged funding received from corporate private partners supports primarily national activities of The SCN Coalition. As examples, in FY2022, this included the “SCN Root Check” campaign sponsored by Valent, “Talking Todes Together with BASF” and media relations at the Farm Progress Show to showcase BASF’s SCN Action Month program. In FY2023, these included the development of the SCN Profit Checker Tool (funded by USB), and declaration of
October 2, 2023, as National Nematode Day (NND) (fully funded by Bayer, BASF, Nufarm and Syngenta). And in FY2024, October 1, 2024, was designated as National Nematode Day, fully funded by Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, and a video shoot was sponsored by Valent that provided educational materials about the resistance problem and active SCN management tactics. Throughout, in-kind funding from private corporate partners (media, advertising, etc.) multiplies The SCN Coalition messages. Some aforementioned projects are still being conducted or expanded upon in FY2025.

In April 2024, The SCN Coalition held hour-long virtual meetings with its private partners to provide updates on its results and activities and discuss ways their direct and indirect funding can support the mission and activities of The SCN Coalition. Also in April, The SCN Coalition held virtual update sessions for our university colleagues to ensure coordination of activities and discuss ways to leverage Coalition strengths for local growers. Updates to NCSRP and USB staff/leadership were made as needed (or requested). In all updates, the current SCN Coalition leadership made a concerted effort to slowly, carefully and transparently inform all partners as we fully transition the leadership roles of Drs. Sam Markell and Greg Tylka to Drs. Dylan Mangel, Horacio Lopez-Nicora and Tristan Watson. Current leaders Drs. George Bird, Carl Bradley and Albert Tenuta remain in the leadership circle, and ensure further stability. Throughout the remainder of the project cycle, The SCN Coalition leveraged activities to expand the use of the SCN Profit Checker tool, engagement with agricultural media and social media, press releases, support of partner activities (such as SCN Action Month in October sponsored by BASF) and more.

SCN Profit Checker

The SCN Profit Checker Tool was conceived approximately two years ago and direct support from USB became active in FY2023 for its development. In December 2022, an advisory council of select growers and industry representatives was formed to provide input on user experience of the Beta version of the tool. A series of in-person and virtual meetings with university research and extension faculty, private corporate partners and stakeholders were held to inform them of the tool and consult on communication plans.

In 2023, The SCN Coalition and partners developed the first interactive calculator for estimating the economics of SCN management on an individual field basis. The SCN Coalition private industry partners validated and demonstrated SCN Profit Checker to growers and the industry that supports them. As a result, in FY2024, we expected the growers’ investment would deliver them (and other soybean stakeholders): 1) an increased understanding of the economic threat presented by SCN, 2) a field-specific tool that provides guidance on active SCN management, and 3) a reduction in losses from the most yield-limiting pathogen of soybeans in the United States. A press release announcing the debut of the SCN Profit Checker, New Tool from The SCN Coalition Reveals the Pest’s Financial Toll, was distributed Sept. 11, 2023. Social media posts, digital and Google ads, an infographic, and promo video were developed to promote the tool.

Promotion continued in FY2024, with press releases and media outreach conducted to encourage growers to visit the tool. At the end of FY2024, the number of potential earned media impressions is 15.6 million, including a cover story in the Summer 2024 issue of Progressive Farmer. The total number of SCN Profit Checker Calculator users has increased to 68,824, with an average session duration of 1:20.

National Nematode Day

The SCN Coalition and sponsors Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, gave their target audience a reason to pay attention and dedicate a day directed toward soybean cyst nematode (SCN) by declaring
October 1, 2024, National Nematode Day (NND). The SCN Coalition used NND to spread awareness about SCN across digital, social and ag media channels. A giveaway driving users to the NND webpage paired with innovative social media posts and digital ads helped spread awareness and drive engagement. NND was made possible by support leveraged from this NCSRP project, this included direct support from the three private corporate partners ($45,000) plus additional leveraged in-kind (media) support.

Design and Execution
• Content calendar
o Developed a comprehensive social media calendar educating the audience on SCN and their impact on soybean production.
o Incorporated existing resources created by The SCN Coalition, such as videos and active SCN management guides, into the social media calendar.
o Invested in social media promotion across Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
• “Are you smarter than a nematode?” Quizzes and Sweepstakes
o Deployed a new quiz on nematodes each of the three weeks leading up to NND, with a weekly $500 sweepstakes incentivizing participation.
o Unveiled quiz answers via Friday videos featuring experts with The SCN Coalition.
o Promoted the quiz with digital ads and social media, where each company sponsored a week of digital ads promoting the quiz.
o Encouraged audience to follow @TheSCNCoaltion on social media and use #NematodeDay.
• Press release and media outreach
o Winners were announced in an October 1, 2024, “National Nematode Day: Why These Tiny Worms Are Such a Big Deal” release to trade media and published on The SCN Coalition website. Media impressions results will be provided in FY2025 reports, but to date, there have been 44 online articles, including daily industry e-newsletter distributions, resulting in 781,844 potential impressions.
o Trained spokespeople on NND messaging provided resources for promotion of the day in their university/extension newsletters, and scheduled media interviews.
• Banner Ads
o Used banner ads with clear, persuasive copy to highlight the campaign and prompt click-thru to the campaign webpage and further engagement.
o Targeted the ads to farmers, agronomists and agriculture industry professionals using audiences tailored for each platform.
• National Nematode Day Webpage
o Created an SEO-optimized webpage where the target audience could take the quizzes and watch answer videos.
o Provided comprehensive information about SCN, helping the target audience understand the threat to yields and profits.

Results
• Are You Smarter Than a Nematode Sweepstakes Draws 446 Entries
o The three weeks leading up to NND featured quizzes about SCN and other parasitic nematodes that impact soybean production.
o Participants had a chance to win a weekly $500 sweepstakes and were prompted to sign up for The SCN Coalition’s newsletter. This included 446 sweepstakes entries and 221 e-newsletter opt-ins.
• Digital Ads and Videos Reach 614,000
o Each company involved with the campaign sponsored a week of digital ads promoting the quiz, reaching 411,764 soybean farmers, agronomists and crop consultants.
o Videos unveiling answers to the quizzes reached 202,479 in the target audience; they were shared on social media, the NND webpage and YouTube. YouTube results include 32 second average view duration and a 42.4% video completion rate. Kickoff video was the most viewed ad content, with 69.4K impressions.
• Social Media Generates 1.1+ Million Impressions
o The audience was encouraged to follow @TheSCNCoalition on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn and to use #NematodeDay. Social media efforts across Facebook, X and LinkedIn resulted in nearly 12.4K link clicks. Results by outlet included; Facebook weith 685,516 million impressions, 2,970 engagements and 8,079 link clicks; LinkedIn with 470,890 impressions, 4,280 engagements and 4,276 link clicks; X, with 7,194 impressions, 248 engagements and 0 link clicks.
• Earned Media Generates 781,844 million potential online impressions
o A variety of ag media ran the press releases, including American Ag Network, Farm Progress and Successful Farming, and the October 1, 2024, DTN/Progressive Farmer “Production Blog” featured nematodes.
o Experts with the SCN Coalition conducted interviews with Agriculture of America, Brownfield Ag News and RFD-TV. Potential broadcast impressions exceeded 1 million.
• National Nematode Day Webpage Dominates Web Traffic
o 23K page views from September 1 to October 2; users took the quiz, watched the answer videos and had access to educational materials about active SCN management. 75% of all users were new to the SCN website.

Outputs and Outcomes in FY2024

Select Summary Highlights

Online coverage associated with Southern Root Knot Map, National Nematode Day (FY2023 NND coverage), SCN Profit Checker, SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action, Novel Discovery Could Fortify Farmers’ Defenses Against SCN, Best of NAMA – NND, and Mitchum Research Discovery releases have generated 4.2 million potential online impressions in ag media. The SCN Coalition has seen an increase in new visitors to TheSCNCoalition.com, with 44,976 new users in FY2024. We anticipate SCN sample increases in member states as a result of the tool and four videos promoting SCN Profit Checker.

Media and Communication

Media and communication activities have continued steadily through FY2024. Media results since the launch of The SCN Coalition in February 2018 to September 30, 2024:
• The SCN Coalition has been mentioned in 1,066 online articles, resulting in 42.5 million potential online impressions, which represents 11.08% of the total share of online discussion of SCN.
• A total of 271 articles in print publications results in a total of 25.8 million potential impressions.
• Broadcast outreach exceeds 316 million. (Most stations don’t provide potential reach/impressions.)
• Let’s Talk Todes video series resulted in more than 2 million views.
A combination of traditional and social media dramatically increased the reach of The SCN Coalition in FY2024. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Marketing National Nematode Day with $500 Sweepstakes Drawings (Distributed Oct. 2, 2023; 21% open rate, 5 online articles, 213,145 potential impressions. Combined with the FY2023 National Nematode Day release distribution, there have been 25 online articles, resulting in 1.4 million potential online impressions.)
• SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action* (Distributed Dec. 11, 2023; 37% open rate, 16 online articles, 603,812 potential online impressions.)
• Novel Discovery Could Fortify Farmers’ Defenses Against SCN (GmSNAP02 gene discovery) (Distributed Jan. 30, 2024; 33% open rate, 31 online articles, 1.5 million potential online impressions.)
• The SCN Coalition Wins NAMA Award for National Nematode Day (Distributed April 29, 2024; 31% open rate, 19 online articles, 78,139 potential online impressions.)
• Breakthrough Discovery Opens New Doors in SCN Management (Melissa Mitchum – Research on the genetics of SCN) (Distributed Aug. 21, 2024; 30% open rate, 37 online article, 396,549 potential online impressions.)
*Thirteen (13) of the 14 “SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action” articles also mention The SCN Coalition Profit Checker calculator; 514,802 of “SCN Experts Share How to Put SCN Soil Test Results into Action” news release coverage potential reach added to SCN Profit Checker potential reach increases SCN Profit Checker potential online impressions (for FY2024) to 1,853,016.

Media Interviews

31+ coordinated media interviews were delivered to media, including AgriTalk, Brownfield Ag News, Successful Farming, DTN Progressive Farmer, Farm Progress/Wallaces Farmer, and more.

SCN Website and Social Metrics

The SCN Coalition has seen an increase in new visitors to TheSCNCoalition.com, with 99,100 total new users in FY2024 (October 2023 – September 2024). Total website users October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2024, is 175,430.

The SCN Coalition continues to grow our social media presence, garnering the following potential impressions and new followers October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024:
• X: 131,500 impressions in FY2024; 250 new followers in FY2024.
• Facebook: 4,752,653 impressions in FY2024; 86 new followers in FY2024.
• LinkedIn: 1,728,904 impressions in FY2024; 449 new followers in FY2024.

Google Ads

• 73,745 impressions with a 3.66% average click-through rate (above industry average).

Awards

In January 2024, The SCN Coalition’s 2023 National Nematode Day campaign, sponsored by BASF, Bayer, Nufarm and Syngenta won a Merit (second place) award in the Unique Sponsorship Campaign category at the Regional III NAMA awards ceremony, and in April, was the recipient of the first-place award at the National Award ceremony. NAMA is the largest agri-marketing association in the United States.

Planning beyond FY2024

A complementary and non-codependent proposal (FY2025) was submitted to the United Soybean Board and approved for FY2025. The proposal, titled “Uniting expertise and innovative learning tools to combat parasitic nematodes in soybean,” focuses on developing educational materials that reflect current knowledge and recommendations on economically important soybean nematodes, including root-knot (RKN), reniform, lesion and SCN. This continues the evolution of The SCN Coalition to include other nematodes and nematode-interacting soybean pathogens.

Private-partner meetings will be held. In recent years, these meetings have resulted in the development of novel programs and collaborations, and commitments for direct and indirect funding and support for The SCN Coalition activities. Commonly, spring meetings will result in activities and outcomes into the FY2025. We are hopeful for strong future NCSRP-leveraged and coordinated activities with our excellent private sector partners! In fact, in November, Coalition leadership is meeting with a potential new private partner.

The PPP continues to be the greatest source of strength for The SCN Coalition. Nine agrochemical companies, two dozen universities, and state, regional and national soybean checkoff organizations make up the core of the PPP. Additional partners like ag media, QSSB and others also make great contributions and contribute to the previous success and future activities of The SCN Coalition. In aggregate, the estimated direct funding of The SCN Coalition to date is estimated at more than $6.2M and the in-direct support estimated to be $15M.

Acknowledgements

The SCN Coalition is a true public-private partnership that could not have been established had it not been for the financial support and foresight of the NCSRP. Their heavily leveraged investment has resulted in outputs far greater than any one partner could have produced. We thank the NCSRP and the QSSB’s that support the NCSRP.

Personal Gratitude

On behalf of Dr. Greg Tylka and myself (who now transition out as leaders of the SCN Coalition), we personally thank the amazing leadership of the NCSRP, including the elected farmer board of directors, executive director Dr. Ed Anderson, and all the staff involved. Our work with the SCN Coalition has been a highlight of our careers. It is an honor to work for the soybean farmers of our great country, and we are forever grateful for your faith in us.

Despite great improvements in understanding and management, data suggests large numbers of growers can still improve their yield by incorporating active SCN management tools. In 2020, growers reported that SCN was costing them approximately 5.1 bu/ac. Data suggests that genetic rotation, crop rotation and seed treatment can reduce this number, thereby increasing grower profits. We will deliver current, relevant research-based information to growers, so they can make the best decisions for their farm to limit losses to SCN. The SCN Coalition is in an excellent position to continue to leverage NCSRP funds, which multiples the management messages to soybean growers increasing the impact of this program.