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Soybean Checkoff prepares for "year of opportunity"U.S. soybean farmers have a lot to look forward to next year. Coming off one of the most successful years in the history of the soybean checkoff, farmers are aiming to raise the bar even higher. Farmer-leaders of the United Soybean Board held their annual meeting to prepare for next year. As a part of the meeting, USB elected its new chairman, Ike Boudreaux, a soybean farmer from Lebeau, La., to lead the board in 2008. "It is an honor to be elected USB chairman by my friends and peers," says Boudreaux. "We have a year of opportunity ahead of us and the members of our board will continue to address challenges through partnerships with industry, state soybean boards and members of the soybean value chain. Together we will add to this success in 2008 for all U.S soybean farmers." Helping Boudreaux lead the board are: Vice Chairman Chuck Myers, a soybean farmer from Lyons, Neb.; Secretary Chuck Friedrich, Aurora, S.D.; and Treasurer Marc Curtis, Leland, Miss. The remaining members of the Executive Committee include Todd Allen, West Memphis, Ark.; Phil Bradshaw, Griggsville, Ill.; Benny Cooper, Kevil, Ky.; Terry Ecker, Elmo, Mo.; Mike Gerhart, Ephrata, Penn.; and Rick Stern, Cream Ridge, N.J. USB will be working with a budget of just over $63 million in 2008. December is prime time for planning, and U.S farmers are ready to move the needle forward in the coming year. A big part of planning for success is evaluating the past year to see which strategies worked and which didn't. Here are some major accomplishments from the past year: --Record exports helped push price and demand for soy as well this year. U.S. soybean farmers exported a record 1.4 billion bushels of soybeans overseas. U.S. soybean farmers are supported in 80 countries around the globe by their checkoff. --Partnership truly helped open new doors for soybean farmers as Ford Motor Company introduced soy foam seating in the 2008 Ford Mustang. The soybean checkoff has leveraged checkoff investments with Ford and other suppliers to develop the technology to make this possible. Industry sources say other auto manufacturers are also doing similar research thanks to these efforts. --Soy biodiesel continues to show promise. A checkoff-funded survey shows that awareness for the positive performance of biodiesel by soybean farmers was at 69 percent--and 50 percent of farmers say they burn soy biodiesel. The National Biodiesel Board estimates that over 300 million gallons could be used by the end of 2007 and is projecting over 350 million gallons next year. --Support of local animal agriculture by soybean farmers continues to strengthen. The checkoff will continue developing relationships with its number one customer of soybean meal--the U.S. livestock industry. The industry consumes 98 percent of all domestic soybean meal. "We are living in unusual times for our industry," says Eric Niemann, USB immediate past chairman and a soybean farmer from Nortonville, Kan. "With record soybean exports and the development of new traits that our customers want, I feel that that U.S. soybean farmers' investments are in good hands." USB is made up of 68 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. Checkoff funds are invested in the areas of animal utilization, human utilization, industrial utilization, industry relations, market access and supply. As stipulated in the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soybean checkoff. 3/24/08 Date: 3/14/08
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