Developments/Issues That Will Affect U.S. Soybean Production

Below are links to and information about publications, developments, and issues that may affect the future of agriculture and soybean production in the U.S.

Biopesticides for Crop Disease Management by numerous authors [including Dr. Travis Faske of the Univ. of Arkansas] is a Sept. 2023 publication from the Crop Protection Network. The information in this web-based resource provides insight into the world of natural pest solutions, and how/when they might be used to replace or supplement the use of synthetic pesticides. This publication is available free of charge on the Crop Protection Network website and can be accessed here on the MSSOY website.

In a Sep. 2023 news release from Pattern Ag, the company announced an amplification of its analytics tool–i.e. Complete Bio Panel–to predict the presence of foliar diseases in corn and soybeans. This tool can now be used to conduct field analyses to predict the occurrence of soybean diseases such as charcoal rot, Cercospora leaf blight, and frogeye leaf spot. This knowledge will allow farmers to take preemptive measures such as planting seed of resistant varieties, timely in-season scouting, and selecting specific fungicides to mitigate the risks associated with growing soybeans where these diseases may occur. These newest analytics are available in the Pattern Ag Dashboard that can be accessed on the Pattern Ag website.

USDA-APHIS is the U.S. government agency that regulates genetically modified organisms under guidelines provided in the Plant Protection Act to ensure that they are safe for agriculture, the environment, and consumers. In a Nov. 2023 article titled “APHIS proposes five additional exemptions for modified plants”, the agency is proposing five additional exemptions for plant modifications that could be accomplished with conventional breeding techniques. The terminology used in the proposed exemptions is likely only understood by plant breeders who are working with such modifications. However, producer organizations that have staff with the skills and background to understand such jargon will want to be informed of these exemptions so they can aid in the interpretation of their meaning to their members and grant awardees.

A May 2023 article titled “U.S. Midwest to Face Dust Bowl Conditions in the Coming Decades” refers to an article titled “More Frequent Dust Storms Could Be in Our Future” by Christian Elliott. As the title of the first linked article implies, its content deals with the potential disruption of current farming in the U.S. Midwest. Both articles deal with how agricultural intensification such as the conversion of native prairie grasslands to production of crops such as corn and wheat can lead to conditions that led to the U.S. Dust Bowl in the 1930's. Both articles place the onus of preventing this occurrence on U.S. agriculture by citing conventional agricultural practices as a major contributor to conditions that can lead to another dust bowl in America’s heartland. Authors of both articles recommend large-scale conversion of cropland to no-till agriculture and using cover crops that will keep soil covered during the off-season between summer crops. U.S. government policies that push production of crops such as corn for biofuel production are cited as major contributors to the conversion of drier lands to crop production.