Metz Praises South Dakota Farmers’ Role in Biodiesel Success

Soybean leader and producer Bob Metz has earned historical perspective. Metz, who with his wife Karen and family operates a farm older than South Dakota statehood, has served in state and national soybean leadership positions. He was president of the American Soybean Association in 2005 and 2006. That’s after serving as chairman of what was then the National Biodiesel Board – now Clean Fuels Alliance America. Metz has high praise for the state’s role in biodiesel development and promotion.

“You know, we were just really one of the key states along with some of our good neighbors. That's been really, really important as well, because [soybean oil] is really driving our markets today and it has a great future,” Metz told the South Dakota Soybean Network. “It's good for our country. It's good for clean air. We've always had an excess of veg oil. And so that's why we started it. But South Dakota was really one of those leaders. And we had some good people that came before me and after me on those types of boards as well.”

Metz also considers South Dakota’s location to be well-suited to serve some the United States’ most prolific soybean export customers.

“We are one of farthest west, northwest states for shipping soybeans to Asia,” he said. “Certainly, China has been a huge market over the years, but Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, that mainly goes out to the Pacific Northwest. And we're one of the closest markets to that. So, I think the work that we've done on international marketing, especially going to Asia, has been really key for South Dakota farmers.”

One of Metz’s priorities while serving as ASA president a couple of decades ago was trade, albeit trade relationships that affected U.S. soybean growers at large. At the time, U.S. trade policy was aimed at, among others, Latin American countries situated in close proximity to the U.S.

On the ASA webpage from July of 2005 announcing Metz’s election as the organization’s president, Metz is quoted supporting passage of the Dominican Republic, Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) “because this agreement will benefit 99 percent of U.S. agriculture and set the stage for our future as a global trading partner," said Metz, in the ASA 2005 release.

In the summer of 2026, Metz still draws encouragement from foreign business, as well as domestic accomplishments. He gives credit to the development of soybean processing infrastructure not only in South Dakota, but in North Dakota and Minnesota, which serves both feed and fuel demand.

“It's been a great opportunity for us to have the soybeans processed locally. So that's given us a nice opportunity, a nice opportunity to sell soybean meal, especially in the Philippines and some of those Asian countries that don't have their own soybean crushing facilities,” Metz pointed out. “But when you do that, then you end up with the oil here in the U.S. and that's where the biodiesel is really fit in.”