Update:
Final Report
All good things come to an end.
I developed the first Soybean Checkoff-funded Research Database in 1978. This database summarized the checkoff research projects that were being funded by 18 state checkoff boards with a total investment of $1.8 million. Last fiscal year, the annually developed database listed 710 soybean research projects for a total checkoff investment of over $66.5 million. Each year, I was pleased to be a small part of a growth program that benefited the Nation’s soybean farmers. The soybean checkoff program has played an important role in focusing/guiding the public soybean research effort and will play an even greater role in the future when public support of needed soybean research will be less plentiful.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the American Soybean Association and the United Soybean Board for their support over the years. Without their continued support this annual listing of projects would not have been possible. With their support, we developed a resource that research managers and checkoff board members could use in making strategic decisions.
The database project provided persons interested in soybean checkoff-funded research a quick way of determining “who was doing what”. The real benefit of the database was that it was possible in a few minutes to obtain a listing of all checkoff studies underway and their specific project objectives in a selected area of study. This information was critical in determining research needs and areas that were fully funded. The database was a “tool” that could be used to assure soybean leaders that their checkoff investment was targeted at projects needing support and not duplicating funding of projects.
The project’s specific accomplishments and/or deliverables:
• A detailed listing of all checkoff-funded research projects underway on a common date (October 1st) for all states with soybean checkoff programs;?
• A historical table showing checkoff research dollars invested by individual checkoff boards;?
• A historical table showing the checkoff investment in soybean production, utilization and educational activities;?
• A public website (www.soybeancheckoffresearch.org) that provided detailed information on all checkoff-funded research projects funded over the past six years;?
• A computer program that could be used to search the checkoff research project database using key word, principal investigator, research institution, and funding checkoff board;
• A resource that could be used to quickly summarize all checkoff-funded research underway and all researchers involved in a specific topic area. This resource is valuable in developing strategic approaches to solving soybean problems and/or expanding soybean use opportunities;?
• A resource researchers could use to help justify their proposed project objectives based on past-funded checkoff studies; and
• A resource that allowed soybean checkoff leaders to assess soybean research needs and research areas with ample funding. This helped assure the checkoff investment is effectively allocated to funding priority areas important to improving the short- and long-term profitable of soybean crop.?
As I look back, the one big deficiency and disappointment of the checkoff-funded activity was the absence of a promotional program necessary to alert interested persons to the published database and interactive Website. While we informed state executives and some board members, we were not successful in getting wide-spread use of the database. My recommendation for any future program designed to capture the listing of soybean checkoff-funded research projects is it needs to be aggressively promoted to soybean farmer leaders, researchers, crop consultants and those with soybean technical interests.
The other disappointment was that many researchers funded by the soybean checkoff did not feel obligated to provide detailed reports on what was being accomplished with the checkoff funds provided. Too many researchers opted to continue to “study” problems, rather than using past results to modify the project’s objectives in order to “solve” problems. I tried to include results in the database, but was not successful due to many researchers were not required to include results in their funding requests.
Again, Thanks for past support.