ASA asks Congress to provide $2.8 million in ARS-funded research to develop rust resistance in soybean varieties. ASA also asks Congress to support EPA approval of additional fungicides prior to the prospective introduction of rust in this country. In view of the serious consequences of a rust outbreak, ASA has asked the Administration to initiate a national preemption and response plan.

Asian rust represents a major threat to U.S. soybean production. Unless identified and treated early, rust can reduce soybean yields by 80%. Treatment can require 2-3 applications of fungicide, costing up to $25 per acre. While rust cannot survive freezing temperatures, it can over-winter on host plants in warmer climates, and re-infest cooler areas during the soybean growing season.

Rust was first identified in Brazil in 2001, and has spread rapidly in that country as well as in Paraguay and Argentina. Concerns about introduction of the disease from imports of soybean meal from Brazil in 2003 were allayed by assurances that both the meal and foreign material were heat treated, which is known to kill spores. The tightening soybean supply situation in the U.S. this year is raising new concerns about the possible presence of viable rust spores in any shipments of whole soybeans from South America.

ASA is working with APHIS in the development of a protocol to govern imports of whole soybeans, as well as soybean seed and soybean meal, from rust-infested countries. The protocol will be based on a scientific pest risk assessment, and on a review of storage and port handling facilities in Brazil by APHIS officials. ASA has been assured we will have an opportunity to comment on the protocol before it becomes effective.

ASA is also working with ARS to support $2.8 million in federal funding in FY-2005 for research on rust resistant soybeans at land grant institutions in Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, and Tennessee, as well as at the ARS facilities in Beltsville and Fort Detrick. ASA and organizations representing other crops are asking for $1.5 million for research on legume genomics, which could provide a longer-term answer to controlling rust.

The Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing applications for Section 18 Emergency Use permits for seven fungicides for use on rust. Once these decision are made, ASA will ask the Administration to develop a national preemption and response plan, including inter-agency coordination and possible stockpiling of adequate fungicide supplies for controlling a rust outbreak.