Members of the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board (MSPB) met for their annual meeting on Feb. 17-18, 2015 in Starkville MS. Major results from that meeting follow.

• At the July 2014 MSPB summer meeting, the Board approved the naming of a new 3-year Soybean Doctoral Fellowship in honor of Dr. Billy Moore, MSU Extension Plant Pathologist emeritus and current consultant to the MSPB and Mississippi soybean producers. Dr. Moore is recognized as a preeminent authority on Midsouth soybean diseases and their control, and as a longtime supporter of Mississippi soybean producers.

At the above annual meeting, the Board approved funding for the Billy Moore Soybean Doctoral Fellowship and a concurrent research project that will be conducted by the selected doctoral candidate. Formal announcement of the fellowship along with the application packet will be posted on the MSPB/Checkoff page of the MSPB website, www.mssoy.org. Funding of the Moore Fellowship follows funding of the Bufkin, Blaine, and Hester Doctoral Fellowships in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively.

• Total funding approved by the Board at the meeting for research, extension, and information transfer projects for the 2015-2016 project year totals $2,297,213. Over a quarter (over $580,000) 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 science 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 for the 2015-2016 project period has been posted on the MSPB website.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Mar. 2015, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net