New Farmer-Leaders Appointed to United Soybean Board

The U.S. Department of Agriculture appointed nine new soybean farmers to serve on the United Soybean Board and reappointed eight directors for an additional term.

ST. LOUIS (March 2, 2022) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the appointment of nine new U.S. soybean farmers to serve on the United Soybean Board (USB) and reappointed eight directors for an additional term. Farmer-leaders will serve a three-year term.

“With different uses of soy continuing to grow, this is an exciting time to be a USB farmer-leader. I look forward to working with these passionate individuals who will bring additional perspectives and insights, expanding our group of creative and innovative thinkers,” said Ralph Lott, USB Chair and farmer from New York. “The reappointed leaders bring back valuable experience, having worked through our Value Creation Framework process determining future checkoff investments. Together, we will move U.S. Soy forward and bring value back to the farm gate of all U.S. soybean farmers.”

U.S. soybean farmers receive an estimated $12.34 in value for every dollar they invested in the checkoff. Those investments continue to fund programs that build preference for U.S. soybeans across the country and around the world. Authorized by the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act, the checkoff is composed of 78 members representing 29 states, in addition to the Eastern and Western regions. The number of seats on the board is determined based on bushels produced in their region. Members must be soybean farmers nominated by a Qualified State Soybean Board.

“This group of farmer-leaders represents a variety of operations and unique points of view across the many growing regions of our country,” said Meagan Kaiser, USB Vice Chair and farmer from Missouri. “We all share a common goal to maximize the profit opportunities for every U.S. soybean farmer, and I’m eager to work together to strengthen our collective future.”

Newly appointed farmer-leaders include:

• Arkansas – Robert Petter, De Valls Bluff
• Georgia – Jesse Patrick, Madison City
• Indiana – Jim Douglas, Flat Rock
• Minnesota – Patrick O’Leary, Benson
• Missouri – Robert Alpers, Prairie Home
• North Dakota – Cindy Pulskamp, Hillsboro
• South Dakota – Tim Ostrem, Centerville
• Virginia – Shannon Tignor Ellis, Champlain
• Wisconsin – Nancy Kavazanjian, Beaver Dam (one-year term)

Reappointed farmer-leaders include:

• Illinois – Lynn Rohrscheib, Fairmount
• Iowa – April Hemmes, Hampton
• Kentucky – Brent Gatton, Bremen
• Louisiana – Garrett Marsh, Tallulah
• Nebraska – Tony Johanson, Oakland
• North Carolina – Benjamin Derek Potter, Grantsboro
• Ohio – Jeff Magyar, Orwell
• Pennsylvania – Andrew Fabin, Homer City

Newly appointed alternate(s) are:

• Georgia – Mark Ariail, Carnesville
• New Jersey – Fred R. Catalano, Woodstown (one-year term)
• South Carolina – Charlie Whiten, Westminster (two-year term)
• Eastern Region – Mark H. Kable, Charles Town, West Virginia (one-year term)

To learn about key investments made on behalf of U.S. soybean farmers, sign up for the Soy Hopper newsletter at unitedsoybean.org/newsletter.

About United Soybean Board: United Soybean Board’s 78 volunteer farmer-leaders work on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers to achieve maximum value for their soy checkoff investments. These volunteers create value by investing in research, education and promotion with the vision to deliver sustainable soy solutions to every life, every day across the three priority areas of Infrastructure & Connectivity, Health & Nutrition, and Innovation & Technology. 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. For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit unitedsoybean.org.

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Contact:
Paul Murphy-Spooner at United Soybean Board, 515.975.6584.
Mace Thornton at United Soybean Board, mthornton@unitedsoybean.org.