ISRC Celebrates Soy Foods Month with Student Brunch

Students wait in line for omelets at the ISRC Soy Foods Month Brunch in the Student Innovation Center on the ISU campus.

In celebration of National Soy Foods Month in April, the ISRC hosted a free student omelet brunch on campus at ISU’s Student Innovation Center on April 6. This is the third year for the event, which continues to get bigger and better. More than 250 students participated. Sponsors of this year’s event included the Iowa Food & Family Project, Iowa Egg Council and North Central Poultry Association, and new this year…Vibe Nutrition.

ISU Dining Services made omelets on site and students learned that poultry feed contains soy and Vibe Nutrition uses soy protein in their smoothies. Students enjoyed a soy trivia game, soy recipes and giveaways offered by the Iowa Food & Family Project, Iowa Egg Council, North Central Poultry Association and the ISRC.



A big thank you to our sponsors and to ISU Dining Services, who continue to make this event a hit with ISU students and for helping us promote the many uses and benefits of soy! Full article

Founding ISRC Director and Morrill Professor of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology Greg Tylka was honored at a March 25th awards ceremony with the 2026 Iowa Master Farmer Exceptional Service to Agriculture Award by Wallaces Farmer.

Additional award recipients with ties to the ISRC who also received awards, included farmers Morey and Rhonda Hill and Iowa Soybean Association CEO Kirk Leeds. Full article

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and the North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) recently released requests for proposals.



ISA: The due date for submitting proposals to the ISA is 11:59pm CST on May 11, 2026.

NCSRP: The due date for NCSRP proposal submissions is 11:59pm CST on May 25, 2026.

The Iowa Soybean Research Center welcomed Spraytec as its newest industry partner in February. Business Development Manager Erin Doran will serve as Spraytec’s representative on the ISRC’s Industry Advisory Council, which provides guidance on research needs and funding priorities for the center. Full article

The “Optimizing Continuous Soybean Production” project funded by the ISRC and led by ISRC faculty research affiliate Sotirios Archontoulis has concluded, and a final report may be found on the ISRC’s website. Note, this project will continue with funding from the Iowa Soybean Association. Co-PIs on the project include PhD student Carolina Freitas and faculty research affiliates Mark Licht and Michael Castellano, agronomy. Full article

Carolina Pratas Glycerio de Freitas is a graduate research assistant working towards her PhD in Crop Production and Physiology at ISU under advising professor and ISRC faculty research affiliate Sotirios Archontoulis, agronomy. Freitas joined the Archontoulis Lab in May of 2023 to pursue her graduate studies and to work on the continuous soy project funded by the ISRC, which has now gone on to receive additional funding from the Iowa Soybean Association. Full article

Morey Hill is one of three Iowa soybean farmer representatives on the ISRC’s Industry Advisory Council (IAC). The council identifies research needs in the areas of soybean production and protection for the center. Farmer representatives serve three-year terms on the council and provide valuable feedback on what research topics are of importance to soybean farmers.

Hill and wife Rhonda farm soybean and corn along with a small sheep herd and small flock of laying hens near Madrid, Iowa. Full article

ISRC faculty research affiliate Gustavo MacIntosh is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology at Iowa State. His laboratory specializes primarily in plant molecular biology with a focus on plant-pest interactions, RNA metabolism and plant immunity. Full article

ISRC Hosts Soybean Photo Contest

Several ISRC faculty research affiliates were selected for funding from ISU's fall 2025 Research and Innovation Roundtable, focused on Building Biosecurity: Protecting Plants from Pests and Pathogens.

The fall RIR was the second consecutive collaboration between ISU and scientists of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). CSIRO is an Australian government agency that works with leading organizations worldwide to support scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. Full article

Iowa State researchers are teaming up with international collaborators to develop a web tool that helps farmers identify and manage the insects, weeds and diseases that threaten their crops. The project is led by ISRC faculty research affiliate Arti Singh, agronomy. Full article

In March, the ISRC assisted in hosting a two-day spring agronomy training session for ISRC industry partner Syngenta at ISU’s Seed Science Center. While most of this year’s training session was conducted by Syngenta for their own research agronomists, ISRC faculty research affiliate and ISU Extension weed scientist Wes Everman was invited to provide an overview on Waterhemp management and herbicide resistance concerns. Full article

Several College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) faculty and staff were honored at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Spring Awards Program on March 9, 2026. ISRC Co-director and Associate Professor of Agronomy Mark Licht received the Raymond and Mary Baker Agronomic Excellence Award and ISRC faculty research affiliate Richard Roth, agronomy, was the recipient of the Early Achievement in Extension and Outreach Award. Full article

Upcoming Events

August 4, 2026: NCSRP Visit to ISU

Sept. 1-3, 2026: Farm Progress Show 2026, Boone, IA

Sept. 14, 2026: ISRC Workshop with Industry Advisory Council, Alumni Center

Sept. 15, 2026: ISRC Annual Industry Advisory Council Meeting, Reiman Gardens


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