Soybean farmers may have another disease in their fields next year, but fortunately their checkoff has already been working on ways to manage it. Through the soybean checkoff, U.S. farmers have been investing in research aimed at controlling soybean rust since it was first identified in Brazil in 2001. In fact, the soybean checkoff has funded most of the research conducted on soybean rust to date.

“While the implications of soybean rust in the United States are a frustration for farmers, it’s a problem we have been preparing for through our soybean checkoff for several years now,” said United Soybean Board (USB) Production Chair Jim Sallstrom, a soybean farmer from Winthrop, Minn. “We knew rust would enter the U.S. eventually. Whether it’s funding research to develop resistant varieties or educating farmers about what to do if they suspect rust in their fields, our soybean checkoff is prepared to help all U.S. soybean farmers in their fight against rust.”

The soybean rust entry location in the United States is exactly where checkoff-funded weather models predicted rust would enter the country, due to prevailing winds and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico.

“This accurate prediction establishes the credibility of checkoff-funded rust research to date and makes the board feel even more positive about future soybean rust research conducted by USDA,” said Sallstrom. “Right now, our checkoff is focused on building its current research to screen varieties for resistance to rust and developing effective management recommendations for controlling rust until we have resistant varieties.”

Through funding provided by the soybean checkoff, USDA scientists have already screened more than 20,500 lines of U.S. and exotic germplasm for resistance to rust. At this time, about 800 lines appear to show at least partial resistance to the disease.

Additional research, funded through soybean checkoff funds from USB and the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board, aims to move the genes identified for resistance or tolerance into elite soybean varieties.

In other soybean checkoff-funded rust research, U.S. soybean varieties have been planted in countries infected with soybean rust. U.S. researchers are collaborating with scientists in those countries who are conducting tests to evaluate U.S. varieties for resistance to soybean rust.

Reid Frederick, Ph.D., has led the checkoff-funded rust research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit. According to Dr. Frederick, the checkoff-funded research over the past few years has allowed for a significant accumulation of knowledge about rust and has significantly accelerated our search for sources of resistance to rust.

“Our checkoff investment in soybean rust research has also helped leverage additional federal funding for research on this disease,” explained Sallstrom. “USDA scientists received over $1 million in funds from ARS to sequence the two rust pathogens. The Department of Energy matched those funds since rust was considered a bioterrorism threat before it was found in the United States.”

In addition, an Omnibus Appropriations bill passed on Dec. 6 will allocate more than $1 million for soybean rust research at Iowa State University, the Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Md. and at the University of Illinois.

Since 2001, USB and the soybean checkoff have invested in the development of management recommendations to control rust in the short-term. Through checkoff-funded meetings and workshops, rust experts, funded by the soybean checkoff, have educated plant pathologists, agronomists, extension agents and others about soybean rust and how to diagnose the disease and treat the disease.

According to a United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service study published in April of this year, a rust outbreak in the U.S. translates into an average production cost increase of $25/acre for U.S. soybean producers, representing one to two new fungicide applications. With fungicide applications to help control rust, soybean yields would range from a 9.5 percent loss to nearly a 1 percent increase. A yield increase would be attributed to the fact that fungicide treatments can also control other diseases that reduce yield, but these treatments are not profitable in the absence of rust. USDA does not anticipate a significant impact on U.S. soybean exports, as the United States is the last major soybean producer in the world to get soybean rust.

The soybean checkoff has developed a diagnostic guide to help soybean farmers identify rust. This guide is available on the USB Web site at www.unitedsoybean.org. Soybean farmers can also learn more about rust at a Web site partially sponsored by USB and the soybean checkoff, www.StopSoybeanRust.com. The Web site features the most current information on the disease and tips for diagnosing and managing rust, and provides farmers with the opportunity to participate in online seminars featuring soybean rust experts.

Investing in soybean rust research and farmer education efforts is another way the soybean checkoff works to give U.S. soybean farmers a competitive edge. USB is made up of 64 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. As stipulated in the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soybean checkoff.