By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Two of the nation’s leading soybean organizations have been busy laying the groundwork for their priorities for the coming year.
The United Soybean Board (USB), a farmer-led organization that administers soybean checkoff dollars, recently used its summer meeting in Columbus, Ohio, to finalize funding priorities for the next year. The American Soybean Assoc. (ASA), the national grassroots membership organization for soybean producers, elected new officers at its national meeting in Washington, D.C.
Discussions for both groups included priorities for biodiesel market expansion, continued partnership with the livestock industry, having an impact on the food industry with new varieties, funding research to protect crops from pests and diseases and developing new soy products.
“We are coming upon an age of opportunity for American agriculture and the U.S. soybean industry will be a big part of that success,” says Eric Niemann, USB chairman and a soybean farmer from Nortonville, Kan. “As we move forward, we must continue to increase on-farm profit opportunities for our fellow soybean farmers by accomplishing our goals aggressively, while ensuring that our investments are made in an efficient and effective manner.”
The soybean checkoff faces a number of opportunities in the next few years. One important example is the continued promotion of soy biodiesel and other soy-based product technology.
Currently, 50 percent of soybean farmers surveyed by the checkoff state they are using this biodiesel.
Like ethanol, as the biodiesel industry grows, analysts are concerned soybean production will not be able to support future demand. According to Niemann, the checkoff is committed to working with its industry to invest in research to increase yields and produce soybean varieties containing higher oil content. Such research will help the U.S. soybean industry meet the increasing needs of the food, feed and fuel industries.
Another priority is checkoff support of the livestock industry, which accounts for 77 percent of domestic use of whole soybeans and almost all soy meal. The checkoff will continue working to improve the competitiveness of domestic poultry and livestock producers by uniting the farming industry in support of animal agriculture, the thinking being that success for domestic animal agriculture means success for soybean farmers.
In addition to domestic use, growers will continue to meet the changing needs of overseas customers. USDA estimates by the end of the 2006-07 marketing year, 435 million bushels of soybeans will be exported to China alone. This represents roughly 41 percent of all soybean exports.
China is projected to import 1.139 billion bushels of soybeans for 2007, up from 381 million bushels in 2001. The checkoff has representatives promoting U.S. soy in 80 countries.
“We will continue to seek out new opportunities on the horizon to help U.S. soybean farmers remain globally competitive, says Niemann. “Increased meal use in aquaculture, additional research to make soy biodiesel more cost-effective and tools to help farmers identify plant diseases are all key investments that will provide a boost to soybean farmer profitability.”
At its D.C. meeting, the ASA held elections and announced new committee assignments, including newly confirmed president John Hoffman, a soybean farmer from Waterloo, Iowa.
“My primary focus is first and foremost the new Farm Bill,” said Hoffman. “We have been working with Congress to improve the safety net for soybeans.
“Close behind that is funding of a biodiesel incentive program, and authorization of a healthy oils incentive to help commercialize new specialty soybeans with improved compositional traits.”
Hoffman urges Congress to support House Ag Committee Chairman Rep. Collin Peterson’s (D-Minn.) farm bill proposal currently in the House of Representatives.
“Peterson’s proposal helps correct the inequities from the 2002 farm bill that established target prices at levels that do not provide an adequate safety net for producers of oilseed crops,” he said.
“His 2007 proposal, which includes a soybean target price of $6.10, is a step in the right direction toward rebalancing the support provided to oilseeds in relation to other program commodities.”
ASA voiced similar priorities as USB, with its top policy priority to improve the safety net for soybean producers, and its farm bill proposals call for a soybean target price of $6.85. Close behind is funding for a biodiesel incentive program, which is also included in Peterson’s proposal, and authorization of a healthy oils incentive to help commercialize new specialty soybeans with improved compositional traits.
“The chairman’s proposal represents a fair balance between farm commodity, conservation, energy, nutrition and rural development programs,” Hoffman said.
Soybean farmers have supported the “three-legged stool” – marketing loans, the counter-cyclical program and direct payments in combination with crop insurance and disaster assistance to provide an adequate safety net for farmers in years of low prices and reduced production.
USB is made up of 64 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the 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 Customer Information Act, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soybean checkoff.
ASA is a national, not-for-profit grassroots membership organization that develops and implements policies to increase the profitability of its members and the entire soybean industry. It is the policy advocate and collective voice of its 24,000 producer-members on domestic and international issues of importance to all soybean farmers.
This farm news was published in the July 25, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
