South Dakota Soybean Association Asks Growers to Serve on Board of Directors

South Dakota Soybean Association (SDSA) calls on South Dakota soybean growers to lead. The organization will hold board elections at the SDSA Annual Meeting on December 6, 2023. The districts up for election are one, five, and seven.

"Farmers actively involved in shaping our industry are the driving force behind its progress," said Kevin Deinert, a farmer from Mount Vernon and President of SDSA. Deinert encourages farmers who live and farm in a district with an upcoming open seat to consider taking the opportunity to serve. "Farmers have hands-on experiences and deep insight into our industry's challenges." Deinert said, "which are essential when it comes to representing and advocating for farmers through SDSA on a state and national level."

As a farmer-led organization, SDSA gives a strong voice to its members through legislation and public policy. The organization is governed by a board of farmer-leaders who are elected by the members of SDSA. The board includes directors from seven districts, plus three at-large directors.

Requirements to serve

Candidates must be a member of SDSA to hold a board seat. Directors must live in a county from the district he or she is representing. Directors must have produced an average of 40 acres of soybeans the previous three years.

All board members are elected to serve a three-year term.

Below is a list of the counties represented by the districts with open seats.

District One: Aurora, Beadle, Bennett, Brule, Buffalo, Custer, Davison, Fall River, Gregory, Haakon, Hand, Hanson, Hughes, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Lyman, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Pennington, Sanborn, Stanley, Sully, Todd, and Tripp.

District Five: Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Douglas, Hutchinson, and Yankton.

District Seven: Brown, Butte, Campbell, Corson, Dewey, Edmunds, Faulk, Harding, Lawrence, McPherson, Meade, Perkins, Potter, Spink, Walworth, and Ziebach.

Apply by December 1

Soybean growers interested in serving as an SDSA director can get an application by contacting Becky at bcypher@sdsoybean.org and the SDSA office at (605)330-9942.

Applications are due to the SDSA office by December 1. Candidates may also be nominated at the SDSA Annual Meeting on December 6.

This blog post is brought to you by the South Dakota Soybean Association.