Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** soybean is the world's largest…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** soybean is the world's largest source of animal protein feed and the second largest source of vegetable oil. This is due largely to its high protein concentration, complete amino acid profile, and high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. Soybean seed typically contains 38-42% protein on a dry matter basis, which is primarily used to feed livestock, and 20% oil, which is refined for food and industrial purposes. Soybean meal – the byproduct of oil extraction – typically contains 44 to 48% crude protein. Advantages of soybean meal in livestock feed include high levels of amino acids, a good source of energy, vitamins and minerals, digestibility of amino acids, high availability, and reliability in a consistent product with fairly predictable prices for use in production. In recent years, the protein content of U.S. Soybeans, a major component of SOY meal, has been decreasing. Farmers must produce high quality soybeans without sacrificing yield to meet the needs of the current livestock industry. Breeding initiatives have focused on increasing the intrinsic value of soybean by increasing protein and improving oil quality. Our previous research discovered a major quantitative trait locus for increased protein with a favorable allele from 'danbaekong', which increases 3-4% in seed protein. The allele was introgressed into an elite cultivar to create 'benning HP,' which yields comparably to the recurrent parent. The uses of soybean oil continue to expand because of the versatility of this valuable vegetable oil. High-oleic soybeans offer benefits of increased oxidative stability under high heat use. Increasing oleic acid and decreasing linolenic acid in soybean oil has been achieved by combining four null alleles for fatty acid desaturase genes. Using marker-assisted selection, we have successfully developed and released high oleic and low linolenic soybean cultivars. To keep the demand for soybean products high, breeders must combine the high protein, high oleic, and low linolenic acid traits so that the oil and protein are both optimal when they are separated during processing. By identifying recombinants for high oleic and high protein genes, we have developed breeding lines with a five-gene stack. The objective of this project is to test experimental lines in the southeast region and release 1-2 soybean varieties in maturity groups VI, VII or VIII with high protein (>44%), high oleic (>75%), and low linolenic (