31 May 2013

Soy Checkoff Salutes New York City Efforts to Go Green

By United Soybean Board

United Soybean Board farmer-leaders honor use of biodiesel and other soy products

ST. LOUIS (May 31, 2013) - With the help of U.S. soy, New York City is learning that it's actually pretty easy to be green with products such as soy-backed carpeting and synthetic grass.

 

In addition, New York's greenhouse-gas-reduction strategy includes the use of cleaner-burning biodiesel in the ports of New York and New Jersey and requirements for the use of Bioheat®, a blend of biodiesel with traditional heating oil.

 

"It's a good thing for U.S. soybean farmers to have New York City asking for and using our products, the first being biodiesel, followed by Bioheat®and now soy-based carpet-backing," says Lewis Bainbridge, a soybean farmer and United Soybean Board (USB) secretary from Ethan, S.D. "It speaks volumes about the quality of soybeans produced in the U.S. for food, feed, fuel and industrial products."

 

Bainbridge recently joined fellow soy checkoff farmer-leader Sharon Covert, a farmer from Tiskilwa, Ill., in recognizing New York sites that use biobased products. One stop was an Applebee's restaurant in the Harlem neighborhood, where the franchise owner had installed carpeting with soy-based backing throughout the restaurant. USB also acknowledged the installment of AstroTurf® with soy-based backing in Battery Park, just two blocks from the nearly complete One World Trade Center monument at ground zero.

 

"As U.S. soybean farmers, we are excited to support many products that bring benefits to New York City residents," adds Covert, who also serves as USB Customer Focus Action Team chair. "The soy checkoff is pleased that state-of-the-art products, such as biodiesel, carpet and AstroTurf, use soy as a renewable ingredient for sustainability."

 

The soy checkoff invests in research, development and commercialization of new products that contain U.S. soy. Thanks in part to this relationship, 45 new soy-based products hit the market last year.

 

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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21 May 2013

10 Soybean Farmers to See Checkoff in Action

By United Soybean Board
Soy checkoff announces "See for Yourself" participants

ST. LOUIS (May 21, 2013) - Farmer-leaders of the soy checkoff recently informed 10 U.S. soybean farmers of their selection for the 2013 See for Yourself program, an intensive, weeklong educational experience that helps soybean farmers learn more about their checkoff and industry.
"We at the national soy checkoff are thrilled with the interest we've seen this year in this important program," says David Hartke, a soybean farmer from Teutopolis, Ill., and chair of the United Soybean Board (USB) Audit and Evaluation program, which sponsors See for Yourself.
"I think we have an outstanding group of participants this year, all of whom I see as having great leadership potential for the ag industry going forward," says Hartke.
Selected through an application process, the following U.S. soybean farmers come from soybean-growing states around the country and will participate in the program:
Participants, who hail from soybean-growing states across the nation, are the following:
  • Stacey Artz, N.D.
  • Peter Bakken, S.D.
  • Jonathan Gibbs, Wis.
  • Jeffery Heimerl, Ohio
  • David Lanners, Minn.
  • Rodney Lehman, Mo.
  • Travis Matthews, Mo.
  • Quint Pottinger, Ky.
  • Austin Rincker, Ill.
  • Wallace Willoughby III, Ark.
Participants will gather July 18-26 and learn about checkoff and soy industry activities in St. Louis and the countries of Panama and Colombia.
They will see how their domestic and international customers beyond the elevator use soy meal and oil. They will also see their checkoff funds in action by visiting a number of sites that represent their biggest customers, including animal agriculture, which uses nearly 98 percent of U.S. soy meal, and the food industry, which uses two-thirds of U.S. soy oil. Participants will also visit sites that demonstrate the importance of farmers' freedom to operate.
"Many past See forYourself participants say they had no idea the checkoff works for soybean farmers in as many ways as it does," Hartke says. "Additionally, participants have the chance to provide feedback directly to me and other farmer-leaders on the checkoff programs they learn about. Hearing from farmers is one of the best ways we can evaluate checkoff investments."
The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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14 May 2013

B100 to Fuel Pulling Tractors

By United Soybean Board
New rule allows biodiesel to boost tractors this season

ST. LOUIS (May 14, 2013) - A partnership between U.S. soybean farmers and the National Tractor Pullers Association (NTPA) will reach another milestone Friday when the NTPA begins allowing the use of 100 percent biodiesel, in all diesel pulling classes for this season.

This is the seventh season the soy checkoff has partnered with the NTPA to promote the use of biodiesel to pulling fans, including many farmers, truck drivers and other diesel users.

A study funded by the state soy checkoff board in Minnesota and conducted by United Pullers of Minnesota found using biodiesel in pulling competition can provide a 4 percent increase in torque and horsepower.

"Performance results like these are an added bonus to the environmental and economic benefits of using biodiesel," says Larry Marek, soy checkoff farmer-leader and a soybean farmer from Riverside, Iowa. "If NTPA pullers can get these kinds of results on the track, we can certainly get great results using B100 on the farm." 

Also returning to the track this season will be the "Powered by Biodiesel," Light Pro Stock class, in which all competitors are required to use biodiesel blends.

"B100 performs well, and is dependable even in the most excruciating tests," says Gregg Randall, NTPA office general manager. "Pullers will definitely want to take advantage of the fuel this pulling season."

Click here to view the entire 2013 NTPA competition schedule and find out where tractor pullers will be using B100 near you.

Biodiesel is known as America's Advanced Biofuel because it reduces greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 50 percent compared with petroleum diesel. It offers excellent horsepower, mileage and cetane, and adds as much as 65 percent lubricity to an engine.

The soy checkoff funds biodiesel research and promotion efforts through the National Biodiesel Board to help increase the use of U.S. soy oil. Soy oil remains the dominant feedstock for U.S. biodiesel production.

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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19 Apr 2013

U.S. Soy Leads By Example in Soy Sustainability

By United Soybean Board
USB farmer-leader shares best management practices at World Soybean Research Conference
ST. LOUIS (April 18, 2013) - Speaking on a world stage about the excellent sustainability performance of U.S. soy, Jim Carroll recently confirmed what he and the soy checkoff already knew: global customers demand soybeans and soy products produced in a sustainable manner.
Carroll, a soy checkoff farmer-leader from Brinkley, Ark., recently brought his farm expertise to South Africa, where he told attendees at the World Soybean Research Conference about the practices he's implemented to decrease his farm's carbon footprint while maintaining high productivity. Carroll says the conversations he had at the conference reinforced his notion that soy customers place a high priority on sustainability.
"Several people from around the world came to me after the presentation was over and asked me for more information about sustainability," said Carroll. "Sustainability is constantly gaining importance, and I am very honored to have had the chance share my experiences."
Many U.S. soy customers consider sustainability an important issue. The U.S. soy industry received good marks in several reports and studies conducted by the checkoff measuring the sustainability performance of various aspects of U.S. soy production. This makes the practices of U.S. farmers a good example for soybean operations in other countries.
Sustainability was one of many topics discussed at the conference, which brings together members from every link of the soy value chain. Participants heard presentations and discussed the geographic differences in growing, processing, transporting and marketing soybeans, soy meal and soy oil.
Recent polls of U.S. soybean farmers show they do their part to increase sustainability on their operations. More than 50 percent of farmers say they made changes to improve their farms' sustainability performance.
Carroll said, "I spoke with several people from both Africa and Europe who were very interested in how I increased efficiency and conserved water while irrigating." Overall, in the last 30 years, U.S. farmers have reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, while increasing irrigation efficiency per bushel of soybeans by more than 40 percent.
"For me, sustainability is just about trying to make reasonable, economic and environmental decisions for my farming operation," Carroll said. "If you are a farmer today, chances are you already work to improve your farm's sustainability, whether you know it or not. All farmers want to make the best decisions possible for their land and operation."
The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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16 Apr 2013

Soy Checkoff Chair Celebrates Soyfoods Month Jim Stillman cooks up his soy favorites

By United Soybean Board
If you catch United Soybean Board Chairman Jim Stillman in the kitchen, chances are he's whipping up one of his favorite soy-based dishes. Join Stillman in making one of his favorites - Overnight Egg Casserole. Click here to watch.
16 Nov 2012

Soy Checkoff Works to Increase U.S. Soy Use in Aquaculture

By United Soybean Board

It's no wonder that aquaculture is catching on, considering the growing global population, increasing individual incomes and stronger awareness of the health benefits of seafood. In fact, aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing sectors in global animal agriculture. The farmer-leaders of the United Soybean Board (USB) and the soy checkoff are hooked on these prospective customers of U.S. soy.


Watch the video to hear from checkoff farmer-leader Sharon Covert, soybean farmer from Tiskilwa, Ill., about USB's work to develop the global aquaculture market for U.S. soybean farmers.

Watch this video to learn more.
12 Nov 2012

Soy Checkoff Research Yields Smartphone App

By United Soybean Board
'Extreme Beans' gives farmers easy way to evaluate the economics of inputs

ST. LOUIS (Nov. 12, 2012) - Ever wonder whether it's worth it to apply a fungicide? How about the most cost-effective seeding rate? The national soy checkoff has put that information in the palm of your hand.

A new app developed by the United Soybean Board (USB) includes two calculators that help farmers plan for their next crop. One helps users determine whether the yield benefits of various input combinations justify the costs. The other uses the main maturity rates for a farmer's region, the cost of soybean seed and an estimated price of the soybeans at the time of sale to determine an optimal seeding rate based on a percentage of return.

The app also includes documents and videos that describe the research behind each tool.

"This is a really easy way for farmers to get an idea about seeding rates for soybeans based on both the cost of the seed and the price of the harvested grain," says Seth Naeve, lead investigator and associate professor of agronomy and plant genetics, University of Minnesota. "It's a way for them to utilize that information together to provide them with a numerical suggestion for seeding rates."

The Extreme Beans app is available for Apple iPhone and Android-enabled smartphones and other devices. Farmers can easily find it in their device's app store by simply searching by the title.

The Extreme Beans app is a result of the soy checkoff-funded "Maximum Yield Through Inputs" study, which compared the yields from plots where various inputs were applied to plots without additional inputs. Researchers threw "everything but the kitchen sink" at the soybeans, Naeve says.

"The checkoff is continually looking for ways to give farmers tools to improve production and increase the value of their soybeans," says Jim Schriver, chair of USB's production committee and soybean farmer from Bluffton, Ind. "When we see opportunities to help add value to the product, not only in terms of production but also quality, we want to help it come to market, and one of the best ways to do that is through a tool."

An insert in the August issue of Corn & Soybean Digest included summary results from the extensive study. To request a copy of the insert, click here.

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.
For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit us at www.UnitedSoybean.org
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard
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29 Oct 2012

See What Lock Failures Could Cost Farmers in Your Area

By United Soybean Board
Many of the locks in the U.S. inland waterway system are past their usable lifespan and, even worse, for years have not been maintained as they should have been. A lock failure would hurt U.S. farmers who use the waterways to ship their products and also U.S. consumers who eventually buy those products. In addition, farmers and consumers would see prices for fuel and coal increase.

Click here to view a map that shows what a lock failure could do to farmers in your area.

The new, interactive map was recently developed by the soy checkoff to make information about this critical issue more accessible as well as more specific to local areas.

That information was compiled recently in soy-checkoff-funded research that shows the importance of the U.S. inland waterway system to U.S. soybean farmers. According to the checkoff's most recent study, U.S. waterways make a staggering impact on U.S. farmers' bottom lines as well as on the price U.S. consumers pay for food. The new, interactive map shows the effect a failure at each of five locks on the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois rivers would have on U.S. soybean and corn prices.

For more information, please contact Laura Schafer, 888-235-4332.
About USB
The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.
29 Oct 2012

U.S. Soybean Farmer Success Linked to Animal Agriculture

By United Soybean Board
Report also measures economic impact of poultry, livestock and fish sectors on U.S. economyST. LOUIS (October 25, 2012) - Challenges facing U.S. poultry, livestock and fish farmers threaten the future profitability of the country's soybean farmers, according to a new report that also analyzes the economic impact of animal agriculture.

The report, prepared for the United Soybean Board (USB) and soy checkoff, concludes that the future success of the U.S. soy industry is closely tied to the long-term competitiveness of its No. 1 customer, animal agriculture. Rising feed prices and costs related to environmental and animal welfare regulations are just two factors that could significantly impact the practices involved with raising poultry, livestock and fish, the report says.

"U.S. soybean farmers should care about animal ag because it's their number one domestic customer," said Lewis Bainbridge, chair of USB's Domestic Marketing program and a soybean farmer from Ethan, S.D. "We need to be sensitive to the issues facing poultry and livestock farmers and make sure that we are providing high-quality soy meal."

The study, which can be viewed in its entirety by clicking HERE, looks at the production of broilers, eggs, turkeys, hogs, beef cattle, dairy and aquaculture between 2001 and 2011. It details the use of U.S. soy meal in each sector and the value that sector represents to U.S. soybean farmers.

The study also outlines the economic benefits poultry, livestock, and aquaculture provide at the state and national levels. Nationally, in 2011, these benefits included:

•    Support for 1.7 million jobs
•    $333 billion in total economic output
•    A $58 billion impact on household incomes
•    $18 billion in income and property taxes paid

For U.S. soybean farmers, U.S. animal ag remains their most important customer. Overall, poultry, livestock and fish farmers in 2011 used almost 30 million tons of soy meal, or the meal from 1.27 billion bushels of U.S. soybeans. The meal consumption per species broke down as follows:


•    Broiler chickens: the meal from about 480 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
•    Hogs: the meal from more than 360 million bushels
•    Dairy cattle: the meal from approximately 101 million bushels
•    Laying hens: the meal from 93 million bushels
•    Turkeys: the meal from more than 80 million bushels
•    Beef cattle: the meal from more than 80 million bushels

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.


For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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29 Oct 2012

Double Trouble for Soybean Cyst Nematode

By United Soybean Board
Two recent checkoff-funded discoveries provide more possible solutions to billion-dollar disease

ST. LOUIS (October 25, 2012) - When it comes to soybean cyst nematode (SCN), which costs U.S. soybean farmers $1 billion annually in crop losses, farmers can never have enough potential solutions. Twice recently, research funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) and soy checkoff has yielded potential breakthroughs in fighting off this devastating disease.

In a paper titled "A Soybean Cyst Nematode Resistance Gene Points to a New Mechanism of Plant Resistance to Pathogens," scientists reveal that they identified and validated the gene at the Rhg4 locus, a major driver in a soybean plant's resistance to SCN.

"The checkoff has a number of projects that aim to identify the genes in a soybean plant that can effectively control SCN," says USB Production program Chair Jim Schriver, a soybean farmer from Bluffton, Ind. "Even though there are different types of SCN, if we could take advantage of those genes that control resistance, it would be effective for all types of SCN."

The study, published recently in the online journal Nature, is the first to identify the gene and its mechanism for creating resistance, according to the article's lead authors, Khalid Meksem, Ph.D., of Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) and Melissa Goellner Mitchum, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri at Columbia.

"Funding and support from USB and the soy checkoff have been crucial to this new discovery of disease resistance, which will be used to develop products that will benefit U.S. soybean farmers," says Meksem, associate professor of plant, soil science and agricultural systems at SIUC. "This discovery comes at a time when farmers need new solutions, as the nematodes adapt and find ways through the soybeans' defenses."

The team hopes their research will lead to a better understanding of how the resistant genes work and ultimately lead to improved crop yield.

A separate checkoff-funded project recently found that soybean plants with multiple copies of a multi-gene block known as Rhg1 also show better resistance to SCN. Both projects allow researchers to focus on these gene structures - Rhg1 and Rhg4 - to help them develop SCN-resistant U.S. soybean varieties.

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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