The Soybean Pod

We are bringing you the best soybean stories on our NEW podcast, with our host Tom Steever. Introducing The Soybean Pod, where we’re discussing the incredible soybean, the people who grow it, and why that crop is so important. Brought to you by South Dakota soybean farmers and their checkoff.

Be sure to find us on your favorite platform Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music or Sound Cloud, and keep a lookout for new episodes coming soon!

The Soybean Pod

Jeff Kloucek on Planting and Smoking Meats

Jun 17, 2025

During the spring of 2025, South Dakota farmers experienced and endured all manner of weather through the planting and early growing seasons. On this edition of the Soybean Pod, American Soybean Association Corteva Young Leader Program alumnus and current SDSA board member Jeff Kloucek talks about his satisfaction with the season in the short time since planting and about his approach to crop consulting, his “main job.” Kloucek also reveals his secret desire to satisfy appetites with the best smoked pulled pork possible.

Don Norton on AgUnited for SD

Jun 17, 2025

It’s difficult to get groups to agree, but AgUnited for South Dakota has successfully brought several commodity and farm advocacy organizations together in agreement. Don Norton, a former CEO of South Dakota Agriculture and Rural Leadership, is its executive director. On this edition of the Soybean Pod, Norton explains how an organization becomes more than the sum of its parts by speaking with a unified voice on those issues where the groups – seven of them – share common ground.

Eric Jones on 2025 weed issues

Jun 17, 2025

It’s a tall order to guess which weeds will cause problems in any given year, but the guest on this edition of The Soybean Pod dives in. Weed Management Specialist Eric Jones at South Dakota State University hedges his bets, however, pointing out that weed seeds from wet and dry years are viable. He also discusses the ongoing threat of weeds developing resistance. It’s making managing weeds more difficult with each passing year. One after another, weeds are becoming resistant to management chemistry, leaving very few effective herbicides.

Soil, Soybeans & Stewardship: South Dakota Farmer Kurt Stiefvater's Approach

Apr 10, 2025

A Salem, South Dakota farmer was honored by the American Soybean Association for his attention to conservation in his farming operation. Kurt Stiefvater was one of four regional honorees for The Conservation Legacy Award program and was recognized at the 2025 Commodity Classic in Denver. On this edition of the Soybean Pod, Kurt talks about what his conservation practices are and why he incorporates them into his farming operation. He also reveals what farming methods are the least stressful.

Protecting the Farm: Planning for Long-Term Care with Jayna Voss

Mar 31, 2025

One of the more daunting financial threats to the family farm, according to attorney Jayna Voss at Legacy Law Firm, is long-term nursing care, especially when that care is unplanned. It’s expensive emotionally and financially. But if farmers and their families plan, says Voss, on this edition of The Soybean Pod, there’s a much greater chance that these and other burdens can be withstood with the family farm intact.

Fields & Futures: Agriculture with Damian Mason

Mar 30, 2025

It’s an interesting path that led Indiana native Damian Mason to his current gig as an independent agriculture commentator and analyst. The public speaker keynoted South Dakota AgOutlook and spent some time after that giving his opinions on the current state of affairs for farmers and what he sees as their future. It was an insurance settlement for an unfortunate amputation involving Damian’s father that helped fund the purchase of his family’s dairy farm. That farm was Mason’s beginning in agriculture. 

Matt Erickson on Policy and Econ

Mar 23, 2025

2025 brought a lot of change to the federal policy landscape. Those changes have meant economic uncertainty for farmers. Among the speakers and experts that the South Dakota Soybean Association invited to present at the 2024 AgOutlook Conference and Tradeshow last December was Matt Erickson, the Ag Economic and Policy Advisor for Farm Credit Services of America. On this edition of the Soybean Pod featuring Erickson, we address economic uncertainty and what might be expected on the agriculture horizon.

Connecting Soybeans to the World: Dan Nigg on Logistics and Leadership

Dec 10, 2024

Varying skills and backgrounds bring a diverse array of perspectives to the South Dakota Soybean Association (SDSA) board. Director Dan Nigg of Sisseton, South Dakota, is active on the SDSA board as well as on the board of his local cooperative elevator. That provides insights into what it takes to ship millions of bushels of soybeans from South Dakota to Pacific Northwest ports from which they’re exported to China and Southeast Asia. On this edition of the Soybean Pod, Nigg talks about what being on the SDSA board has taught him, and what he can share with other soybean growers about his knowledge of railroad logistics.