Farmers working for farmers to make a strategic difference

By Dusty Sonnenberg, CCA, Field Leader, a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and Soybean Check-off

The 20th President of the United States, Charles Garfield, once said, “Peak performers see the ability to manage change as a necessity in fulfilling their missions.” The farmer-leaders of the United Soybean Board (USB) are peak performers working hard to manage the changing landscape of the agricultural industry. The mission of the USB is to create value for U.S. soy farmers by investing in research, education, and the promotion of U.S. soy. The farmer-leaders who serve on the United Soybean Board work to accomplish this by organizing into action teams responsible for the investments related to each section of the value chain, for both the supply side and the demand side.

The primary focus of the Demand Action Team is to review and make recommendations to the USB for funding tactics related to fulfilling the demand value chain goals and audiences set by the strategic plan. Susan Watkins is a soybean farmer from Virginia who currently serves as USB Secretary and the Demand Action Team Lead.

“We have done a very good job growing our crops, and we have a very valuable soybean on the market, but we still have to work to create demand,” Watkins said. “This year, we created a new work group focused on exports. About 60% of our production in the U.S. goes into exports, and we want to keep building that demand. We have a great sustainable story along with a very valuable soybean that we can offer other countries, and we need to get the word out.”

The USB has been able to foster new export opportunities through their partnership with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). It focuses on differentiating, elevating preference, and attaining market access for the use of U.S. Soy for human consumption, aquaculture, and livestock feed in 80+ countries internationally.

“They are our boots on the ground in foreign countries, and that really helps us get that demand out,” Watkins said. “Along with the work of USSEC, we are trying to build domestic demand with new uses for our soy meal and soy oil. One new product that has been developed is the firefighting foam that uses soy flour meal. The beauty of it is that it does not have the risk of the forever chemicals that the traditional firefighting foam has. It is a win-win, not only for the firefighters and the environment, but for soybean growers to have a new market for their beans.”

Along with the Action Teams, the USB has a committee structure, one of which is the Audit and Evaluation Committee. Don Wyss, a soybean grower from Northeast Indiana, serves as chairman of that committee and says they work to ensure every dollar invested is maximized.

“When you think about USB, we are 77 farmer leaders strong in over 30 states across the United States. Our main goal is to bring additional value back to the soybean farmers in the United States. We are doing that through a number of different projects in a number of different areas,” Wyss said. “It is important to consider if the projects we fund are the best places to be spending that check-off dollar, and whether it is giving us the best rate of return. We continue to see projects that bring value back to U.S. soybean farmers.”

One example of a project that the USB has helped to promote is the production of high oleic soybeans.

“Product differentiation is important,” Wyss said. “One program that is dear to my heart is the production of high oleic soybeans. We grow them on our farm, and I know a lot of farmers in Ohio have them on their farms as well. With this program, we are able to bring a differentiated product to the market that pays farmers a premium for their soybeans. It is especially important in a time with tight margins. It is a way farmers can benefit from a program to help them continue to be profitable and is just one example of how the USB is spending soy check-off dollars to bring value back to the farmer.”