U.S. Soybean Farmers: Quality Assurance Begins with You

By CnAgri2012-10-16 19:36:14 Print

This year's U.S. soybean crop faced major challenges from the weather, but it shouldn't have to face challenges from buyers when it comes to quality. That's why the soy checkoff funds an annual quality survey that measures the protein and oil content of the crop and then publicizes the results to help ensure demand for U.S. soy remains high.

The survey is based on samples submitted by participating U.S. soybean farmers, and many farmers recently received sample kits in the mail. Getting as many samples back as possible is essential to achieving as accurate a view of the soybean crop as possible.

"There's still time for soybean farmers to participate," says survey coordinator Seth Naeve, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota. "We need farmers' samples to ensure we have a comprehensive look at the quality of this year's crop." Aggregated results are shared with prospective buyers in Asia and other markets in late November to showcase the high quality of U.S. soy.

U.S. soybean farmers who received sample kits in the mail can submit their samples using the enclosed postage-paid mailing envelope. Samples should be submitted by Oct. 20 to ensure inclusion in the initial results. Farmers will also receive the results of their own individual samples after the analysis is completed, even if samples are received after the deadline. All individual results are confidential and will be mailed to participating farmers in early December.

Farmers who would like to participate but did not receive a sample kit can call Seth Naeve at 612-625-4298 or email him at naeve002@umn.edu to request a kit.

The 69 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.