Jefferson County Farmer Witnesses Direct Impact of Soy Checkoff

Holbert gets opportunity to see his investment in action

Don Holbert of Dandridge, Tennessee, participated in the United Soybean Board’s 2014 See for Yourself program to learn about his customers beyond the elevator and the checkoff’s role in marketing U.S. soy to those customers.

This year, Holbert was one of 10 U.S. soybean farmers who recently visited St. Louis, Panama and Ecuador with the program, which has provided 70 soybean farmers with an up-close view of their checkoff investment in action over the past seven years.

“The soy checkoff offers a lot of value for farmers,” Holbert said after returning. “On See for Yourself, I learned about some of the issues they work on, such as transportation.”

The stops on the program enabled participants to examine domestic and international transportation as it affects soybean trade, the opportunity of high oleic soybeans, the biodiesel market and the use of soybean meal for animal feed.

Domestic Transportation
The program started with a visit to a barge-loading facility on the Mississippi River, near St. Louis. The efficiency and reliability of the U.S. transportation system give U.S. soybean farmers a distinct advantage over other soybean-growing countries. The group heard about the need to upgrade U.S. highways, railways and waterways to keep the infrastructure in good repair and maintain this competitive edge.

High Oleic Soybeans
Next, the group visited Monsanto’s research campus outside St. Louis to hear about the checkoff’s investment in high oleic soybeans and see other research in action. The checkoff’s high oleic commitment allows seed companies DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto to expand their existing breeding programs to bring more high oleic varieties to market in a shorter time frame than they would have otherwise. High oleic varieties have the ability to recover lost food-oil demand for U.S. soybean farmers. Additionally, these innovative varieties can help gain new customers by expanding into new markets.

Biodiesel
The last domestic stop was Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, which uses biodiesel in much of its on-site equipment. The facility utilizes a B20 blend (20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent petroleum diesel) in nearly all of its stationary generators, airport equipment, and rescue and firefighting equipment. Soybean oil remains the primary feedstock for U.S. biodiesel production, using the oil from more than 400 million bushels of soybeans in 2013.

International Transportation
In Panama City, Panama, participants observed the inner workings of the Panama Canal. Soybeans are the No. 1 ag commodity that utilizes the Panama Canal: 560 million bushels of U.S. soybean exports passed through it in 2012. The expanded canal, scheduled to be completed in 2015, could make soybean exports even more cost-efficient and beneficial to U.S. farmers’ bottom lines.

Animal Agriculture
Ecuador was the final stop in this year’s program. There, the group learned how and why soybean meal is used by animal agriculture and aquaculture producers throughout the country. They visited a shrimp farm in Guayaquil, and a poultry producer in Quito. In the United States and abroad, animal agriculture is the largest customer of U.S. soybean meal. In fact, U.S. soybean meal has 85 percent market share in Ecuador, according to the checkoff-funded U.S. Soybean Export Council.

“It’s a worthwhile program,” Holbert said. “I was able to see amazing things that I never dreamed I would get to see. I would recommend signing up if you get the chance to go, because the program helps you learn about what goes on outside of your community.”

The 70 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy’s customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

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