Released: June 12, 2001

’Soybean Scene’ Website Offers Firsthand View, Learning

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Last year, more than $500 million worth of soybeans were grown in Kansas, yet many know little to nothing about the crop. Jim Shroyer is trying to change that.

Shroyer, a K-State Research and Extension agronomist, is growing a crop field on the Internet -- this time, it’s soybeans. He and fellow agronomist Dale Fjell have developed "Soybean Scene", a Website that uses pictures to follow the crop from its initial planting to its use in consumer foods.

"[The] soybean is one of the most important crops grown in Kansas," said Shroyer. "We hope through the web page Kansas kids and adults can develop more familiarity and interest with soybeans."

Shroyer is the K-State professor who previously introduced "Adopt-a-Wheat-Field" to the Internet. The site provides a year-long look at the development and growth of a wheat field.

"Soybean Scene" (http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/soybeanscene) will follow a soybean crop at the K-State agronomy field north of Manhattan from planting in May through harvest this fall. It details each step of planting and growth in the plants, explaining scientific terms in easy to understand definitions.

"Each year, Kansas farmers grow about three million acres of soybeans, yet the general public knows little or nothing about this crop, especially in regards to how it grows," he said. "We hope people in agriculture will also look at the Website, appreciate it and hopefully learn a little bit from it, too."

Shroyer said the Website can be used by teachers, much as the wheat page has been in the past.

"I had ‘oodles’ of teachers call and tell us they were using the wheat page in their classrooms. It is great for them because we are using the same botanical terms they are using and are defining the terms in plain English," he said. "The only downfall to the soybean Website is that there is no school in the summer when it is being updated. But we expect the number of visits to increase when teachers begin using the web site in their classroom this fall."

Shroyer said he plans to update the site with pictures and explanations every 3-4 days through June, then slow the frequency of the updates later this summer because "things don’t progress visually that fast in the last summer months."

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Linda Sleichter, Communications Assistant
lsleicht@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News