Model-based soybean decision support: A technology transfer project

The United Soybean Board has supplied significant, multi-year funding to (1) develop a model-based decision support system for soybean production and (2) transfer it from a research mode to self-sustained operation. The project is national in scope, with broad participation across the soybean belt, including farmers, university staff, consultants, and private firms serving the agricultural industry. This paper describes the organization and accomplishments of the project and gives technical details about the software. The system allows users to (I) compare the expected performance of an extremely wide range of production scenarios and (2) conduct specific analyses for planting, variety selection, irrigation, weed control, replanting, and pricing decisions. The heart of the system is the CROPGRO-Soybean model to which has been added a Windows 95(TM) user interface for data entry and management, execution sequencing, and display of results.