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The overall
organizational structure that frames our current and future activities is
depicted here in four major ‘Research Themes’ which encompass
the wide range of research topics.
To
provide long term competitive advantage and value to U.S. soybean products
used in swine feeding, the NSRL
has brought together
leading scientists who seek to enhance the nutritional merit of soybeans
and aim to keep soybean meal as the primary protein supplement in swine diets
globally.
The Soy/Swine Nutrition Research Program is a proactive step by soybean producers
to create the necessary knowledge base to prevent the loss of markets, add
to the value of swine, and gain global market share. This program involves
over a dozen U.S. and international research institutions performing systematic,
focused, purposeful experiments within five research areas. This array of
research efforts represents the first coalition to comprehensively address
ALL possible
factors that may influence the feeding value of soybean for swine. With this
highly collaborative research program, soybean producers are laying the foundation
for maintaining their product’s strong position within the swine industry.
In a cooperative effort with soybean producers and industry organizations,
the NSRL is coordinating several projects aimed at better employing soybeans
as a source of vegetable protein in human food. This integrated, cross disciplinary
program is dedicated to developing innovative processing and marketing techniques,
educating society on the advantages of a soy-enriched diet, and communicating
new health benefits of soy. To meet these challenges, NSRL has brought together
renowned scientists organized into action teams including a Product Development
Team, Soy Consumer Team, Soy Technology Transfer Team, and Soy Outreach Team.
Many food companies today still lack expertise in soy product development, processing,
marketing, distribution, pricing, and promotion. NSRL is embracing these challenges
in order to fully exploit the exceptional nutritional properties of the soybean.
One of the goals of the NSRL is to enhance quality,
productivity, and profitability of U.S. soybeans. As a result
of this goal, the NSRL has launched initiatives to expand
the North American soybean germplasm base and develop new
approaches for control of weeds, diseases, and insects that
steal yield and quality from soybean crops every year. These
initiatives use a program approach in which teams of researchers
from Illinois continually review current production problems
and set research objectives to provide solutions to these
problems.
The NSRL supports numerous outreach efforts utilizing the
Internet, news releases, brochures, extension meetings,
and videos to share these solutions directly with the soybean
producer. By maintaining a strong science foundation, NSRL
productivity research will not only strive to increase soybean
profitability for our growers but also will aim to keep
U.S. soybeans competitive in a global market place.
From its inception, the NSRL have taken a leading role in assisting the soybean
community to use emerging technologies in ways that will position it at the forefront
of the new information age. One of the hallmarks of this effort has been the
introduction of Web-based systems that provide for direct communications and
exchanges of information among soybean offices, industry, producers, and the
public. NSRL has set up several of the most comprehensive sources of soybean
information available on the Web. Having access to these Web-based systems has
contributed to the expansion of market demand for soybean, both within the U.S.
and internationally.
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