The goals of this proposal are two-fold. One: Provide our County Extension Agents with the financial resources to conduct County based activities to showcase the diverse and impactful applied soybean research that has been conducted across North Carolina. Two: Provide support for hosting an annual Soybean Agent Training where agents can see field
demonstrations and interface with diverse soybean experts on the fundamentals and the latest research. The NC State Soybean Extension Specialist will solicit mini-proposals from County Extension Agents across North Carolina in January each year for up to $1,000 per proposal. A committee consisting of the Soybean Extension team at NC State and the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association Research Coordinator will review the mini-proposals and decide which proposals will be funded. Once funded, this mini-proposals will allow for agent driven soybean research and extension efforts at the County level. An important goal of the NC State Soybean Extension Team is to ensure our County Extension Agents are trained with the information and skillset needed to most effectively serve our clientele across the state. One
way to make sure agents have the most up-to-date production information is by hosting an annual Soybean Agent Training where agents can see field demonstrations and interface with diverse soybean experts. Our goal is that an advanced/management focused soybean agent training will be offered annually, and that a basic soybean agent training will be offered bi-annually. Installation and execution of the demonstration plots required for adequate training opportunities requires significant technical effort. This proposal also seeks to provide some funding for the Soybean Extension Program technical staff to execute demonstration plots for the Soybean Agent Training.