Members of the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board (MSPB) met for their annual meeting on Feb. 19-20, 2014 in Starkville MS. Major results from that meeting follow.

• At the July 2013 MSPB summer meeting, the Board approved the naming of a new 3-year Soybean Doctoral Fellowship in memory of Mr. Ed Hester, a Benoit Miss. soybean farmer and past president of the Miss. Soybean Association. Mr. Hester was a stellar leader and promoter of soybeans in the state and Midsouth.

At the above annual meeting, the Board approved funding for the Ed Hester Soybean Doctoral Fellowship and a concurrent research project that will be conducted by the selected doctoral candidate. Formal announcement of this fellowship along with the application process will be posted on the MSPB website, www.mssoy.org. Funding of the Hester Fellowship follows funding of the Bufkin and Blaine Doctoral Fellowships in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

• Total funding approved by the Board at the Feb. meeting for research, extension, and technology transfer projects for the 2014-2015 project year total $2,433,000.


• Nearly a quarter (24% or $582,000) of the funds for approved projects are designated for Graduate Research Assistantships and Fellowships. This is a sizeable investment by the MSPB in the effort to increase the output of trained crop and soil specialists to fill positions that are needed to maintain the viability of soybean research and extension activities in Mississippi.

A synopses of all funded projects will be posted on the MSPB website in the near future.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Mar. 2014, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net