URBANA, Ill. (WAND) -- Several people will soon be out of a job after a soybean research team based in the Midwest is forced to close.Â
According to a social media post from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Professor Peter Goldsmith, The Soybean Innovation Lab is set to close April 15th.Â
Soybean harvest in Macon County, Illinois.
According to the lab's website, its goal is to give researchers, non-governmental organizations and the private sector information and technology needed to advance soybean development in Africa. The lab has more than 100 soybean experts from 24 countries.
Goldsmith said the closure was due to all funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) being ceased.
"Today I had to let go of a staff of 30. These individuals are not only unique experts in the field of tropical soybean, but also close colleagues and friends who are now unexpectedly out of work," Goldsmith said.
Several U.S. universities contribute to the lab, including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Iowa State University, Mississippi State University and University of Missouri.
"U.S. soybean farmers lose one of their best tools to expand their markets and U.S. standards globally. Local economies in emerging markets lose soybean as an incomparable engine growing wealth, prosperity and economic development, " Goldsmith said.
The closure comes despite a federal judge ordering a temporary halt Friday on President Trump and Elon Musk's moves to place thousands of USAID workers on leave.
