Strategic Plan Key to Soy Checkoff
Published: Friday, December 25, 2020
The following is from Larry Wilkinson, a soybean grower from Kimmell.
As a farmer, I've learned that planning is crucial to success. Anticipating weather challenges, knowing when to apply fertilizers and managing expenses are all part of the job. Without proper planning, the farm would suffer.
The same principles apply to most groups and organizations. For more than 30 years, soybean growers have benefitted from the work by our soy checkoff organizations. Our national organization is called the United Soybean Board. At the state level, checkoff funds are managed by the farmer-led Indiana Soybean Alliance.
All soybean farmers pay into the soy checkoff at the first point of purchase. These funds are used for promotion, research and education at the state and national levels. The checkoff collects one-half of 1 percent of the value of a bushel of soybeans, often after it is sold to a grain elevator. Half of those funds automatically go to the USB. ISA invests the remaining funds in programs that benefit Hoosier farmers.
Deciding how to use those funds to benefit soybean farmers also requires planning. This summer, the 24-member board that leads the ISA approved a new, three-year strategic plan to help ensure that farmers get the most out of their checkoff funds.
The new strategic plan lists four focus areas including:
• Market development – Working with our partners in agriculture to accelerate demand for soybeans, soybean oil and soybean meal.
• Sustainability—Responsibly managing our environment, securing our economic viability and remaining sensitive to the desires of our neighbors.
• Value creation—Discovering new uses and new markets for soybeans to increase the value of the crop.
• Producer engagement—Communicating with Indiana's 20,000 soybean growers so they understand the checkoff's efforts and provide tools all soybean farmers can use.
With the help of the ISA staff, dozens of checkoff programs, products and promotions are organized under these key focus areas. These efforts are developing new products such as an innovative, soy-based concrete durability enhancer called PoreShield that will lengthen the lives of Indiana's roads and bridges and has the potential to utilize 200 bushels of soybeans for every two-lane road mile treated.
ISA farmers and staff are engaging international customers who are interested in buying Indiana soybeans, leading to bigger economic impact. Just recently, a key Colombian importer committed to purchasing more soybean oil this coming year thanks to relationships built by some of our national partners like the U.S. Soybean Export Council. And working with farm stakeholders such as Purdue University's ag school, the state checkoff develops new, environmentally safe production methods that don't compromise yields for the economic well-being of our farms.
Great things can be accomplished when we work together. I want all Hoosiers to understand that Indiana's soybean farmers are diligently working to improve our own farms, the communities we live in and all Hoosiers who live in this great state.
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