The Soybean Pod

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 h...

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 s...

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...

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...

“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 communicat...

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 th...

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...

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 He...

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 r...

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...

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, fore...

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 ab...

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 ov...

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...

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 inform...

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...

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, a...

Jamie Johnson is grateful to her father-in-law, whom she credits for implementing conservation practices on the land she and her husband Brian farm. Recognized nationally for resource conservation, the couple shares what they know with other farmers and host Tom Steever on this episode of The Soybean Pod. She loves farming, but Jamie Johnson exudes pure joy when describing the efforts of the fifth...

David Iverson is proud to have followed the footsteps of three generations before him on his Astoria, South Dakota farm. He’s just as proud to have represented South Dakota soybean growers during his time on the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Committee. He is particularly pleased with the committee’s activities that improve the nutrition of children in third-world countries. In t...

Burgeoning production of renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and biodiesel is going to be transformational, in a good way, for livestock producers and the environment, according to Dr. Bob Thaler, interim head of the Department of Animal Science at South Dakota State University. In this episode of The Soybean Pod, the Distinguished Professor and extension swine specialist tells host Tom S...

In the Elk Point ambulance barn, the South Dakota Soybean Association was born. Co-founder and current Executive Director Jerry Schmitz recalls the early days with host Tom Steever for the inaugural episode of The Soybean Pod. Jerry shares insights on the history of the South Dakota Soybean Association and South Dakota Soybean Checkoff, and how they work together to develop markets and grow demand...

Why do farmers travel the world? In this episode of The Soybean Pod, Dawn Scheier shares stories of her travels and how the U.S. Soybean Export Council leads missions to far corners of the globe developing new markets for soybeans worldwide. The best part for the Salem, South Dakota farmer has been the enduring relationships with foreign customers of South Dakota soybean farmers