Jacob Taylor, a graduate student of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, recently completed Biotech University thanks to a scholarship from the Maryland Soybean Board.
Taylor, of Elkridge, Md., completed the one-day course held at the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University in Phoenix Oct. 28. The course included classroom and lab work on biotechnology, including a hands-on DNA extraction experiment and a farm tour.
He now has the opportunity to compete in a multimedia contest to win scholarships and additional travel opportunities.
“In the Chesapeake region we rely on innovation to succeed as farmers. Biotechnology offers us the opportunity to choose soybean varieties which allow us to farm more sustainably and efficiently,” says Travis Hutchison, a Cordova, Md., farmer and chairman of the Maryland Soybean Board. “We hope that, through Biotech U, we are allowing the next generation of journalists to learn about biotechnology and be able to present biotech stories with knowledge and balance.”
Biotech U is co-sponsored by the United Soybean Board, the National Corn Growers Association, the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute and Arizona Farm Bureau.
The Maryland Soybean Board administers soybean checkoff funds for soybean research, marketing and education programs in the state. It is funded by farmers through an assessment of one-half of one percent of the net market value of soybeans at their first point of sale. One-half of the checkoff funds stay in Maryland for programs; the other half is sent to the United Soybean Board.
In Maryland, farmers grow about a half a million acres of soybeans, producing more than 20 million bushels of beans each year. With a value of $173 million to the state’s economy, soybeans are one of Maryland’s top crops. For more information on the Maryland Soybean Board, visit www.mdsoy.com.
# # #
For More Information:
Sandra Davis, Executive Director, Maryland Soybean Board
Office: 410.742.9500
sdavis26@verizon.net