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

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.

Ross Tschetter: Cultivating Leadership and Navigating Soybean Markets

Dec 10, 2024

Ross Tschetter is not afraid to put himself out there. He likes people, resulting in his involvement in more than one program that promotes self-improvement and leadership skills. He puts those skills to use in his community, as part of a local USDA committee and among soybean growers. In this edition of the Soybean Pod, we talk to Tschetter about what motivates him, about his farm, and about his take on soybean demand and dealing with a soft soybean market.

Mike McCrainie and the benefits of Northern-Grown Soybeans

Dec 09, 2024

Northern Soy Marketing exists because of the history of soybean export purchases based on crude protein content. Soybeans grown at the latitude of South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin don’t have the oil and protein concentration of soybeans produced in more southerly climates. On this edition of the Soybean Pod, we’ll talk to Mike McCranie of Claremont, South Dakota, a member of the Northern Soy Marketing board, about research that shows northern-grown soybeans to have unique attributes making the meal from these soybeans attractive as livestock feed.

Soy Science: Boosting Yields and Soil Health with Nitrogen Fixation

Dec 01, 2024

Researchers at South Dakota State University (SDSU) have been working to improve nitrogen-fixing capabilities in soybeans. The hoped-for outcome, according to Sen Subramanian, plant scientist and agronomy professor at SDSU, is an increase in soybean yields while at the same time preserving soil health. On this edition of the Soybean Pod, we talk to Subramanian about his hypothesis that natural biological nitrogen fixation can meet the soybean plant's nutrient needs later in the growth cycle. This would ensure high yields without applying synthetic fertilizers.

Soybean Stories: Todd Hanten on Farming & Checkoff Leadership

Nov 19, 2024

Todd Hanten will miss getting first-hand information on how Soybean Checkoff dollars are being invested. The farmer from Goodwin, South Dakota, not far from Watertown, retired from the checkoff board after three terms, nine years, as a director. He’s proud of what he, along with fellow board members, accomplished. On this edition of The Soybean Pod, among other subjects, we talk with Todd about his favorite part of serving on the checkoff board, as well as how he got into farming.