ST. JOHNS, Mich. – Ben Steyer is the new CEO for the Michigan Soybean Committee (MSC).

“The MSC board is excited to welcome Ben Steyer as the new CEO for Michigan Soybean,” said MSC President Laurie Isley. “His desire to provide a strong return of investments to our farmers makes him a great asset to our organization and his experience leading a cooperative organization will serve Michigan soybean farmers well.”

Steyer replaces Janna Fritz, who became CEO of the MSC in 2019. The MSC also underwent a name change recently, from Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee to Michigan Soybean Committee. Steyer will also work closely with the MSC’s sister organization, the Michigan Soybean Assoc., which functions as an advocate for soybean growers in the state and federal governments. The MSC is involved in marketing and research activities for soybean growers and is the state approved checkoff organization, which means that an assessment is levied on growers at the point of sale to pay for the group’s activities.

Fritz left the organization to take a position with a seed company, Steyer said in a recent interview. Prior to being named as CEO, Steyer worked as the executive director of 1-800-SWEEPER, a co-op organization made up of independently owned and operated power sweeping companies. His work with the organization included continually developing new ways to bring value to the co-op members and strategically leading the organization.

Steyer grew up on a grain farm in northwest Ohio and, although not a farmer he married into a farm family in Michigan and is now based in Monroe County in the southeast lower portion of the state. He lives with his wife Whitney and their two sons, Jackson and Tyson near his in-laws’ corn and soybean farm. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Tiffin University in Ohio. Steyer also worked previously at a seed company and was selected to be a board member of the Independent Professional Seed Assoc., which represents independently owned seed companies. Steyer also participated in Syngenta’s Leadership at Its Best program, a leader development and advocacy training program supported by the American Soybean Assoc.

Steyer said he plans to focus on renewable fuels and stated he wants to make sure that the organization “executes on the executive plan that the board put in place years ago.” That plan includes consumer education, producer education, production research and creating demand for Michigan soybeans. “We work pretty closely with Michigan State University on a lot of projects, including different kinds of pest control, or just testing how effective it is to plant your soybeans early,” he said. “We publish results, but we also have new farm research meetings in the winter to help farmers plan for the coming planting season. This year there were six meetings; they happened in January and February. Over the years growers have come to value what they learn in these meetings. Many of the same growers attend year after year.”

“I’m excited to be the CEO of Michigan Soybean Committee and to be working with a great board of directors and the rest of the Michigan Soybean staff,” Steyer added.