More than 50 soybean growers, university researchers and key industry partners came together for the 2016 Summer Production Meeting at Cragun’s Resort on Gull Lake.

“This event was held to enhance the communication between growers and researchers,” said Dr. David Kee, Minnesota Soybean Director of Research. “We gave them the opportunity to talk in groups and have one-on-one conversations about current issues and the future direction of soybean research projects.”

The event kicked off with an update from North Central Soybean Research Program Director Ed Anderson. The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) annually invests in the efforts of the North Central Soybean Research Program. Anderson highlighted some of the recent projects but also explained the importance of Minnesota’s participation in the twelve-state research program.

The afternoon session included round table discussions. Growers moved around to six different tables where university researchers, extension educators and industry representatives discussed topics including soybean disease/nematode management, soybean agronomy, plant breeding and genomics, weed management, insect management, and crop and soil nutrition.

Further discussion and socializing concluded the evening. Friday morning started with a presentation from Brent Brueland with Environmental Tillage Systems. Brueland discussed some of the research conducted on the tillage equipment with respect to soybean cropping systems and overall tillage management.

Other industry representatives present for the event included: Duane Rathmann, BASF;  Mark Wrucke, Bayer Crop Protection; Bruce Drager, Ross Recker, and Roger Lussenden, Monsanto; and Ryan Lins, Syngenta.

The meeting concluded with group discussion on the hot button topics and plans for future projects.

“The round tables and discussions with researchers and industry provided great insight and conversation that focused on the future of soybean research and communicating that information back to growers,” said Keith Schrader, MSR&PC chairman. “Overall, it was a great event and I look forward to the future as we continue working to make soybean production in Minnesota more profitable.”

Thank you to Compart Pork for supplying pork for the evening meal and to Cragun’s Resort for hosting this year’s event.