South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council Encourages Soybean Growers to Join the Board

The South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (SDSRPC) encourages South Dakota soybean growers to run for open positions on the SDSRPC board of directors.

SDSRPC is the farmer-led organization charged with wisely investing and leveraging checkoff dollars on behalf of South Dakota soybean farmers.

Deadline is April 16, 2018

In order to serve on the SDSRPC board of directors, a candidate must be a participating grower in the soybean checkoff and a resident of the district he or she wishes to represent.

The two districts with board openings are District 5 and District 6. Board members serve three-year terms.

District 5 includes the following counties: Beadle, Jerauld, Hand, Hyde, Hughes, Buffalo, Lyman, Gregory, Tripp, Jones, Mellette, Todd, Haakon, Jackson, Bennett, Pennington, Shannon, Custer and Fall River.

District 6 includes the following counties: Grant, Deuel, Codington, Hamlin and Kingsbury.

Petitions to serve must be completed and returned to the SDSRPC office by 4:30 p.m. April 16, 2018. If more than one eligible candidate completes a petition in each district, then district elections will be May 14 – June 15, 2018. Elected directors will begin their terms effective July 1, 2018.

Petitions are available by calling the SDSRPC office at 605.330.9942.

SDSRPC District Expansion

In addition to the open seats in District 5 and District 6, the farmer-leaders on the SDSRPC board voted to expand the board by two new directors and districts, growing from 7 to 9 districts. By law, the farmer-leaders for the two newly established districts, District 8 and District 9, will be appointed to their first term by South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Mike Jaspers.

District 8 includes the following counties: Marshall, Day, Roberts and Clark.

District 9 includes the following counties: Spink, Faulk, Potter, Sully, Dewey, Stanley, Ziebach, Meade, Butte, Lawrence and Walworth.

“SDSRPC made these changes to better align with and represent the increase in soybean production in South Dakota,” said Matt Bainbridge, a farmer from Ethan and SDSRPC Chairman. “Advancements in seed genetics and the economics of growing soybeans have moved soybean production north and west, and it’s our duty to ensure our board accurately reflects soybean production in our state.”