One of the newest members of the South Dakota Soybean Association Board of Directors is an Edmunds County farmer who also happens to be the assistant chief of the Roscoe, South Dakota Volunteer Fire Department. In this episode of the South Dakota Soybean Pod we hear from Andy Weisser how he began farming and how he became a South Dakota Soybean Association board member. Andy also talks about how his interest in fighting fires resulted in a trip to Georgia to visit a plant that makes a fire suppressant out of soybeans.

The South Dakota Soybean Yield Contest is much more than a friendly competition for yield bragging rights. The contestants are, after all, South Dakotans, so there’s not much outward bragging even for those with the best yields. The real value of the annual contest is in the data collected each year that, with expert analysis, helps improve yields in following years, according to Cheryl Reese, a senior lecturer at South Dakota State University who teaches soybean production. In this edition of The Soybean POD, we’ll hear from Ms. Reese what agronomic traits most contribute to improvements in yield.

As much as there is a strategy for building soybean demand domestically and globally, there is a strategy for filling that demand. We live in a hungry world, a world also in need of environmentally friendly, sustainable products, which take a huge supply of soybeans. In this episode of The Soybean POD, United Soybean Board Supply Action Team Chair Matt Gast, from southeastern North Dakota, gives a clearer picture of the United Soybean Board’s plan for maintaining soybean supply.

U.S.-grown soybeans provide the world with a huge amount of essential protein, from feed for livestock and aquaculture to directly feeding people. The United Soybean Board’s mission is to maintain global demand for soy nutrition as well as demand for sustainable, environmentally friendly industrial products from lubricants to ink to tires to artificial turf and more. In this episode of The Soybean POD, April Hemmes, United Soybean Board Demand Action Team Chair, talks about USB’s strategy for maintaining high demand for U.S.-grown soybeans.

“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” The line worked in the movie Cool Hand Luke, but a failure to communicate is what South Dakota soybean growers were trying to avoid a decade ago when a handful of farmers at the core of South Dakota Soybean created Hungry for Truth. That initiative is aimed at reasoned conversation between farmers and people who aren’t farmers. Successful communication is a key part of the South Dakota Soybean Checkoff mission, and in this episode of the Soybean POD, John Horter talks about how Hungry for Truth completes the connection between food, the people who produce it and everyone who enjoys healthy eating.

Soybean growers provide checkoff support for promoting U.S. poultry and egg exports. It makes sense since poultry accounts for more than half the disappearance of U.S.-produced soybean meal. Another way to look at this: What’s good for the export of U.S. poultry and eggs is good for U.S. soybean growers. In this episode of the Soybean POD, Mike McCranie, South Dakota Soybean’s representative on the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, puts into clearer focus the importance of soybean checkoff investment in foreign promotion of U.S. poultry and eggs.

A short course is being offered periodically to potential foreign soybean buyers. The Introduction to Soybean Course, shortened to INTSOY, provides an overview of many aspects of the soybean industry. It explores new ideas for soy-based foods and snack foods, soy as a supplement to fortify foods, soy as animal nutrition, and an overview of soy production in the U.S. Those who attend the week-long course learn from industry professionals about the potential uses of soy in food products, beverages, feeds and more. They also participate in the hands-on processing of soy foods and feeds. Our guest on this episode of The Soybean Pod is Brian Sorenson, the program manager at the Fargo, North Dakota-based Northern Crops Institute, where the course is taught.

There are many incentives for conserving soil and water. Among them, maintaining sustainability for future generations comes immediately to mind. Kurt Stiefvater’s incentives range from getting the best crop to propping up grazing resources to preserving a farm legacy. His interest in improving soil health is made possible for the Salem, South Dakota, farmer partly through the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition and a smartphone and PC application called Growing Connections. Stiefvater often shares with other farmers what conservation methods work for him. The fourth generation to farm the land he stewards, Stiefvater, grows soybeans, corn, oats, winter wheat, and alfalfa, plus he maintains a cow/calf operation.

There was a time not long ago when soybean oil was so plentiful there were questions about how and where to store it. The market reflected that surplus. The Soybean Checkoff helped fund research to determine what to do with it. These days, soybean oil’s uses are many, and the resulting demand shift has been good for soybean growers. Karen Coble Edwards’ enthusiasm for innovative soybean oil uses runs deep. The same is true for Goodwin, South Dakota farmer Todd Hanten, who puts his passion to good use by serving on the South Dakota Soybean Checkoff and the United Soybean Board boards.

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.

Renewable biodiesel has been an essential component of soybean demand, with about half of biodiesel feedstock being soybean oil. Scott Fenwick, the technical director for the Clean Fuels Alliance America, says biodiesel usage has grown since it was first blended with petroleum diesel fuel decades ago. In this edition of The Soybean Pod, he maintains that more people would use it if they had information and assurances about its use.

There is nothing better, and there is nothing worse than being in business with those with whom one shares DNA. That’s according to Jolene Brown, a professional speaker, farmer and business consultant who has amassed decades of experience consulting families who are in business together, especially those who farm together. Brown, who spoke at the 2022 AgOutlook Conference, joins us on The Soybean Pod to talk about the importance of planning, and the importance of positively engaging all parties involved in farm business succession.

Legacy is important to Brent and Molly Greenway. The Mitchell, South Dakota couple is the fourth generation to farm and raise livestock in that location. Their legacy’s value means so much to them that they’ve purchased Brent’s great-grandparents’ house, and with inspiration from a home improvement television channel, they’re bringing their ancestral home into the 21st century. Most importantly, at every opportunity, Brent tells the story of farmers and how they safely produce the abundance enjoyed by consumers everywhere.