ST. LOUIS (December 10, 2013) - The U.S. soy industry has done it again, exporting an eye-popping 1.7 billion bushels of U.S. soy to customers around the world in the 2012-13 marketing year, which ended Sept. 30. The value of these exports comes to a record of more than $28 billion, a 19 percent increase from 2011-2012.

The final figures show farmers continue to meet customer demand for a reliable supply of quality products. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this total includes more than 1.3 billion bushels of whole U.S. soybeans, meal from 454 million bushels of U.S. soybeans and oil from 186 million bushels, which represents 56 percent of U.S. soybean production from last year.

"The reliability and quality of the U.S. soy supply are just a few reasons that customers keep buying U.S. soybeans, meal and oil," says Jared Hagert, soybean farmer from Emerado, N.D., and United Soybean Board (USB) farmer-leader. "Continuing to meet our customers' needs is very important to U.S. soybean farmers, and these numbers prove we are doing that."

Soy exports for the 2013-2014 marketing year are off to a good start with 87 percent of the total 2014 export forecasts already sold.

Top buyers of whole U.S. soybeans in 2013 include :

• China: 772 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
• Mexico: 98 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
• Japan: 63 million bushels of U.S. soybeans

Top buyers of U.S. soybean meal in 2013 include :

• Mexico: meal from 59 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
• Philippines: meal from 47 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
• Canada: meal from 43 million bushels of U.S. soybeans

Top buyers of U.S. soybean oil in 2013 include :

• China: oil from 37 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
• Mexico: oil from 35 million bushels of U.S. soybeans
• India: oil from 21 million bushels of U.S. soybeans

The 70 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
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FORMER IOWA AGRICULTURE SECRETARY, AN AG BROADCASTING LEGEND, AND AN ISU EXTENSION CROP SPECIALIST NAMED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO AG WINNERS AT 95^TH IOWA FARM BUREAU ANNUAL MEETING

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - Dec. 6, 2013 - Patty Judge is a trailblazer in Iowa agriculture, serving as the state's first woman to be elected Secretary of Agriculture, where she served two terms;  Mark Pearson, the late host of IPTV's "Market to Market" and the "Big Show" on WHO Radio, was a household name for many Iowans; and George Cummins, retired crop specialist with ISU Extension Service, who still uses his agronomy background and farming experiences to serve as an advocate for agriculture.  The efforts of these Iowans help the cause of Iowa agriculture and rural communities over the past few decades.  Their work has earned Judge, Pearson, and Cummins the 2013 Iowa Farm Bureau Distinguished Service to Agriculture award.  They were recognized during the Iowa Farm Bureau (IFBF) annual meeting in Des Moines, Dec. 4.

The award honors individuals who have played a significant role in the agricultural industry at the local, state and/or national level.  This is the 35th year for the award.  The three winners received plaques honoring their achievements and will be added to a permanent display at IFBF headquarters in West Des Moines.

Patty Judge

With years of experience in the healthcare field, efforts to promote rural Iowa, and public service, Judge spent her life promoting the state of Iowa.

After a career in healthcare as a registered nurse, Judge turned her attention to public service.  Judge was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 1992 and re-elected in 1996.  During her six years in the senate, Judge held numerous leadership positions including: assistant majority and minority leader, ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, member of the Appropriations Committee, Ways and Means Committee, Health and Human Services Committee, Natural Resources Committee, and Economic Development Committee.  She also served as chair of the Regulation and Administration Appropriations Subcommittee.

In 1998, Judge became the first woman in Iowa to be elected Secretary of Agriculture.  She served the role for two terms, following re-election in 2002.  Judge and her family have owned a cow/calf farm in Monroe County for over 40 years.  Her knowledge and experience of production agriculture help her effectively work with leaders to increase market opportunities for Iowa's agricultural products.  Judge traveled the world, leading trade missions on behalf of corn growers, soybean growers, and livestock producers.  Judge's legacy as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture is tied to her tireless promotion of renewable fuels, allowing renewable energy to become an integral part of Iowa's economy under her leadership.

In addition to working on the family farm, Judge owns and operates her own strategic planning business.

Mark Pearson

If you have farming ties in Iowa, chances are good you listened to the late Mark Pearson.  As former host of IPTV's 'Market to Market' for over 20 years and 1,000 episodes and longtime farm broadcaster and host of WHO Radio's 'Big Show', Pearson, was heard by nearly one million listeners and viewers.

In addition to serving as an agriculture personality on television and radio, Pearson worked as the Markets Editor for Successful Farming and as Iowa's Assistant Secretary of Agriculture.  In 1980, he received the most coveted award in agricultural broadcasting, the DeKalb Oscar.  In 1986 he enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer and eventually earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

In 1995, Pearson and his family moved to a farm in east Peru, Iowa, where he built a diversified grain and livestock operation.  Pearson was a popular speaker for farm, business, and financial gatherings across the country.

Pearson developed a reputation as someone able to bridge the gap between rural and urban America through his work on television, radio, business, and public speaking engagements.  He will be remembered for an incredible work ethic and an unwavering commitment to agriculture and rural Iowa.

George Cummins

Cummins is well renowned for his unique combination of agricultural experience and knowledge coupled with the ability to teach others.  Cummins has amazed those in the agricultural community with his animated and engaging seminars and training sessions, all the way up to his retirement.  Although officially retired, one doesn't have to look hard to find Cummins actively engaged in Iowa agriculture.

Cummins moved to Floyd County in 1981 as the new ISU County Extension agent.  Loyalty to the land grant college system and commitment to his farmer clients earned Cummins the reputation as a strong leader for agriculture.  Cummins orchestrated the countywide Floyd County Agricultural Development Authority (FCADA), a coalition of agricultural producers, businesses, and industry leaders to promote economic growth.  The multi-year leadership development program provided the dialogue and laid the groundwork for regional economic advancement.

Early in life, Cummins developed the same beliefs as his role model, Dr. Norman Borlaug.  Using Borlaug's work as inspiration, Cummins had an integral role in the creation of the Borlaug Learning Center located at the ISU Research Farm near Nashua.  Cummins has been recognized for his inherent desire to assist others in improving their lives through agricultural education.  His guidance and mentoring of young people while showing our role in feeding the world has earned the respect and admiration of many in the agricultural community.

It was 14 degrees, nearly twice as cold as usual for a typical November in Iowa.  But more than 5,800 people still showed up at Living History Farms at the break of dawn to run seven miles across the snow-covered farm fields, ice-caked streams and muddy ravines.  As if the course wasn't challenging enough, many runners wore costumes.  I skipped the costume, but I was still eager to join this crazy bunch as they stumbled across fields and climbed up creek banks.

"Why?" my friends and family are still asking, probably because none of them run.  I guess the easiest answer is this: common values.  Runners at the Living History Farms race come in every size, age and ability.  They live in other cities, states, even countries.  But on that day, in that event, we all had a common goal; to enjoy nature while having fun.  To run.  To breathe.  To sweat.  To help each other get across the finish line, no matter the obstacles.

At one particularly tough spot on the course, I found myself slipping, trying to climb out of a muddy ravine, unable to get a foothold, sweat from the previous four miles plastered hair to the side of my face and froze.  Hardly attractive.  Yet from out of nowhere, a hand from an older runner reached out to pull me up.  "You got this," he said, then turned and kept running.  When I cleared the edge, I turned around and helped a much-younger girl get out of the ravine.  She helped a young boy clear the ravine.  Over and over again, people worked together to climb out of the frozen ravine.

If only we could channel that same spirit, offer that same hand to reach across the divide that separates consumers from today's farmers.   Having lived in Iowa for a half-century and grown up on a century hog farm, I know there is room for, and a need for, diversity; some farmers will raise animals on a pasture, others in a feedlot or hog barn.  All are farmers.

Farmers like Andrew Pittz set their own pace.  Pittz, who started the nation's first commercial aronia berry farm, talked about his business model during a recent Farm Bureau annual meeting education seminar.

What was most surprising wasn't just the marketing or production hurdles this young Loess Hills sixth-generation farmer has weathered, but the perspectives of some media folks he's encountered, who too often portray farming as a race for profit, rather than a journey that brings all Iowans together for a common goal.  Pittz says folks are surprised to hear that Farm Bureau encourages organic farmers, niche businesses as well as conventional agriculture.  To him, the end-goal is obvious: more choices at the grocery store.  "Sometimes, it makes sense to be conventional (ag), and sometimes, it makes sense for your farm to be organic.  For us, competing in this market, we are taking on multi-national corporations, so it really makes sense for us to be organic on the marketing side. And it really pays off in the market place," says Pittz.

Judging by the 'standing room only' crowd who came to Des Moines to hear Pittz and other innovative ag leaders, farmers are good at reaching out to others, supporting new ideas that come along.   They're not 'in it to win it', but rather to learn from each other.  To finish well.  To find common ground along the way.  To "run" with honor and embrace diversity.

So the big question is can you?

Laurie Johns is Public Relations Manager for the Iowa Farm Bureau.                        12/5/2013