Members of the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board (MSPB) elected new officers for the 2015 fiscal year at their recent board meeting, choosing Greenville farmer Tim Clements as chairman. Paul Dees of Leland now serves as vice chairman and Bill Ryan Tabb of Cleveland takes over as the organization’s secretary and treasurer.

“I’m honored that my fellow board members put their trust in me to lead this organization,” said Clements. “I look forward to working closely with the board and our outstanding researchers to bring Mississippi farmers the most up-to-date soybean information.”

Other MSPB members include: Jan de Regt, Hollandale; Wayne Dulaney, Clarksdale; Mike Guedon, Natchez; Jeremy Jack, Belzoni; Keith Morton, Falkner; C.D. Simmons, Hollandale; Jerry Slocum, Coldwater; Jimmy Sneed, Hernando; and David Wansley, Valley Park.

The board also finalized a budget for the fiscal year, approving nearly $2.3 million for research, Extension and information-transfer projects. MSPB board members investigate and invest in opportunities to increase the profitability of soybean farmers in Mississippi.

“MSPB aims to keep soybean farmers informed on the latest research and practices in a variety of areas, such as irrigation efficiency, weed control and herbicide-resistance management, disease control and seed quality,” said Dees. “Our primary focus is on increasing yields and improving the quality of soybeans through production research.”

MSPB shares the results of such projects with farmers through its website, www.mssoy.org, as well as through social media and printed materials, such as newsletters and production fact sheets.

“The sole purpose of MSPB is to improve Mississippi soybean farmers’ profit potential by responsibly and effectively investing their checkoff dollars in research and education,” said Clements.

MSPB funds graduate research assistantships, doctoral fellowships and an endowed research chair at Mississippi State University. This helps ensure that the state continues to produce future researchers to support a strong soybean research program that addresses Mississippi production challenges.

This year, MSPB established the Billy Moore Soybean Doctoral Fellowship at the Mississippi State University (MSU) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) to promote the educational development of soybean scientists, especially in the area of production agriculture. Applications are available on the MSPB website.

MSPB also reappointed Larry G. Heatherly as coordinator of research and technology transfer and Carol Bullard as board administrator.