By Jennifer Jones, CCA, ISA Research Agronomist

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The results are in from 24 Illinois Soybean Checkoff-funded soybean production research projects completed during the 2025 growing season. The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) proudly presents the Illinois Soybean Research Review (ISRR), a passion-driven initiative to get checkoff-funded research into the hands of farmers. The ISRR is your go-to resource to learn about the findings from this research and how it can be applied to your farm.

As you read, you will notice the wide variety of research topics and partners who completed the studies. Your checkoff dollars are at work to investigate the issues that directly impact your operation, now or in the future: red crown rot, herbicide resistance, managing soybean cyst nematode through genetic engineering and traditional breeding efforts, updating soybean tissue sampling recommendations and so much more.

It is important to note that some projects have ended while others are ongoing. Under each project, you will see a heading that designates if the project is final or still in progress. The heading “Final Report” indicates that the project has ended, and the results are the final conclusions. Some projects will say, “Year 1 Results,” “Year 2 Results” etc., which indicate the project will likely have additional years before final conclusions are available. Even though some projects are not complete yet, we value the opportunity to share preliminary findings with farmers so they can stay up to date on how projects are progressing.

An exciting aspect of the soybean production research funded by the Illinois Soybean Checkoff is that it is guided by our farmer board and influenced by information from farmers and advisers around the state. The ISA Agronomy Team conducts the annual Growing Concerns Survey to understand the issues most at hand for Illinois soybean farmers. The results from this anonymous survey are shared with researchers at universities in Illinois to guide their research studies and ensure they are addressing what farmers really need to know. Make your voice heard in the 2027 Growing Concerns Survey, coming soon in December.

Thank you for taking the time to read the Illinois Soybean Research Review! If you have questions regarding projects, you can reach out to the project leader, or to the ISA Agronomy Team at agronomy-team@ilsoy.org.