The Soybean Pod

Protecting bees and other pollinating insects is part of good stewardship using crop protection products. The BeSure! campaign was launched to help farmers and applicators avoid harming these insects that are an integral part of successfully raising food. In this edition of the Soybean Pod, Dr. Frank Wong of Bayer Crop Protection, and Eric Ott of Valent USA talk about BeSure!. The initiative is a collaboration among several companies that are otherwise competitors in the field of crop protection but cooperate with each other in this effort.

Foreign customers of U.S. soybean growers are important, so much so that it’s essential to show gratitude for their business. That was part of Tim Ostrem’s reason for traveling to Chile after AGP sold that South American country three cargoes of U.S.-produced soybean meal. Ostrem also wanted to meet with other Chilean companies that are potential customers of U.S. soybean growers. Conversely, foreign customers appreciate meeting the farmers who grow the soybeans fed to Chilean livestock. In this edition of the Soybean Pod, Ostrem talks about that mission and his nine years – three three-year terms – on the South Dakota Soybean Checkoff Board.

The South Dakota Soybean Checkoff is governed by the farmers who fund it. As Jason Frerichs’s term as the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council Chairman ends, he talks about promoting soybean exports, the importance of transportation infrastructure, researching to find new industrial uses for soybeans, and the critical job of serving livestock producers.

The South Dakota Soybean Checkoff has partnered with the South Dakota Agricultural and Rural Leadership Program (SDARL) to conduct the Soybean Genesis Leaders Program. It’s a series of four dynamic, half-day seminars designed to develop soybean industry leaders. Malorie Anderson, who farms with her family at Bryant, South Dakota, completed the second class of the program early in 2023 and talks about her experience.

The checkoff-supported soybean export apparatus is an apparent well-oiled machine. Despite persistent problems around the globe, exports of soy products from the U.S. continue to grow and establish impressive numbers along the way. Jim Sutter leads the U.S. Soybean Export Council and talks about foreign sales of soybeans and the potential for their continued growth.

Ray Starling has a low tolerance for people who insist the food system is broken. Starling, with the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Aimpoint Research, an agri-food market intelligence firm, frequently speaks about food and agriculture issues, especially in defense of U.S. food production. Those are his primary talking points on this edition of The Soybean Pod.

Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare gains knowledge with every opportunity to witness people being fed U.S. soybeans. Feeding the world is a huge task with much at stake, eight billion people and counting. That milestone was projected to have been eclipsed late in 2022, but the growth is unrelenting, and so is the challenge facing U.S. farmers. The World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), founded over two decades ago, serves developing countries where food is the least taken for granted. Simpson-Dolbeare chairs WISHH and discusses its role and farmers’ role in meeting the challenge of feeding the globe.

2022 was the 40th anniversary of the South Dakota Soybean Association’s (SDSA) founding. Many of those involved in establishing the organization and making it thrive are still around and active today. Dave Drennan, a former American Soybean Association staff member, was one of those who assisted in getting the SDSA off the ground. In 1982, Drennan was responsible for regional management in several states, including South Dakota, where he spent a lot of time supporting those interested in forming a state soybean growers’ group.