The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) invests checkoff money into projects that will benefit soybean farmers and make them more profitable, and the Board of Trustees expects results. One way to measure those results is through awards and honors given to the Council throughout the year. Here are some of the awards the Ohio soybean checkoff won for work accomplished in 2018. In addition to these awards, last November OSC also won two R&D 100 awards, which appeared in an article in the January/February 2019 issue of Ohio Soybean News.

National Agri-Marketing Association

The Ohio Soybean Council received two awards from the National AgriMarketing Association in Region VI (Ohio, Eastern, Chesapeake). OSC’s 2017 Investor Report won first place in the Company Publication Category and the Field Leader website (ohiofieldleader.com) was recognized with a Merit award in the Website Category. Both were presented at the National Best of NAMA competition held in April in Kansas City.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

At the 9th International IPM Symposium in 2018, the North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) Entomology Research and Extension Team was awarded an International IPM Award of Excellence. NCSRP is funded by checkoff dollars from 12 states, including Ohio. Dr. Kelley Tilmon, from The Ohio State University, led the project from 2012–2018. She currently heads up the Center for Soybean Research at OSU.

Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (OFSWCD)

In February, OSC was awarded the Outstanding Friend of Conservation Award from OFSWCD at their annual Conservation Partnership Meeting. The award recognizes individuals and organizations who have shown a commitment to excellence in conservation.

Ohio Technology & Engineering Educators Association

In addition to its standard state fair attractions, in 2018 OSC hosted the 4-H Water Windmill Challenge, which challenged students to engineer a windpowered electric pumping system for an imaginary farm. Th is activity taught students the importance of water for both animals and crops, and created a piece of curriculum for OSC’s online education platform, GrowNextGen.org. The project was led by Dr. Bob Horton, extension specialist – educational design and science education at The Ohio State University. The Challenge won the 2018 Best Technology Exhibit from the Ohio Technology & Engineering Educators Association.