Madam Speaker, the 2007 farm bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation this House will consider this year. From such varied topics as rural development to nutrition to conservation to energy to research to disaster…
Madam Speaker, the 2007 farm bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation this House will consider this year. From such varied topics as rural development to nutrition to conservation to energy to research to disaster assistance, the farm bill will impact all of these issues and many, many more. In my district, Missouri's sixth, we have a lot of farmers diversified in different row crops and livestock. Many of my fellow farmers in Northwest Missouri are soybean producers, so it is with this in mind that I would like to draw this distinguished body's attention to a letter I have recently received from the United Soybean Board, an organization responsible for administering the soybean research and promotion programs of the soybean checkoff program. We've heard a lot about checkoff programs over the years, and I hope my colleagues will find the following correspondence useful as we move forward with the 2007 farm bill.
May 24, 2007.
Hon. Sam Graves,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Graves: Thank you for your letter of
May 10, 2007, regarding the soybean research and promotion
efforts of the soybean checkoff program. I very much welcome
the opportunity now and in the future to provide you, other
members of Congress, and the soybean farmers of Missouri's
Sixth District and in other parts of our country, information
about our soybean checkoff.
As you know, at the urging of the nation's soybean farmers,
Congress created the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer
Information Act in 1990. Since that time, the United Soybean
Board (USB), of which I serve as Chairman, and 29 Qualified
State Soybean Boards (QSSBs), have invested soybean checkoff
funds to provide profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean
farmers.
Keeping in mind your suggestion for brevity, I am pleased
to provide answers to the specific questions you posed in
your letter about the accomplishments of the soybean
checkoff:
1. Recently, biodiesel seems to receive a lot of news
coverage. What role, if any, has the checkoff, national or
state, played in the development or marketing of this product
and what is the relationship of USB to the National Biodiesel
Board?
Simply put, America's soybean farmers, through our soybean
checkoff, established the biodiesel industry in the United
States. The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council (MSMC), a
Qualified State Soybean Board (QSSB), funded the first
significant biodiesel research back in 1990. The USB, MSMC
and other QSSBs helped establish the National Biodiesel Board
(NBB) in 1992. The soybean checkoff continues to fund most of
the NBB-coordinated research and promotion that has made
biodiesel one of the fastest-growing renewable fuels in the
United States. According to NBB, biodiesel production in the
U.S. has increased from an estimated 500,000 gallons in 1999
to 225 million gallons in 2006. Our biannual soybean farmer
attitudes survey showed only 23 percent of all soybean
farmers used biodiesel in 2002. Our latest survey shows more
than 50 percent of all U.S. soybean farmers now use biodiesel
in their operations.
2. I know that export markets for American agricultural
products are very important to our nation's trade balance.
How involved have USB or the QSSBs been, if at all, in
developing these markets?
Since Congress established the national soybean checkoff
program in 1990, U.S. soybean exports have doubled. U.S.
Department of Agriculture figures show we exported 557
million bushels of U.S. soybeans in 1990. Last year, we
exported a record 1.1 billion bushels of U.S. soybeans.
The growth of U.S. soy exports to China serves as an
example of the kind of export development work accomplished
by the soybean checkoff. State soybean checkoff programs
funded the early reverse marketing activities in China to
change the country from an exporter into an importer of soy.
Shortly after Congress created the national soybean checkoff,
USB also contributed to those efforts, such as providing
technical information and support to China's poultry,
livestock and aquaculture industries on how to use soy as
a valuable protein source in animal feed. In 1995, these
efforts, funded with soybean checkoff dollars and market
development funds from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service, helped turn
China from being a soy competitor into a U.S. soy
customer. China is now the biggest export customer of U.S.
soy. Most recently, working with soybean checkoff farmer-
leaders and staff, a group of Chinese buyers signed
contracts in the United States to purchase 211 million
bushels of U.S. soybeans, worth more than $2 billion. USDA
projects when the marketing year ends later this year,
China will buy over 400 million bushels of U.S. soy. In
addition to building markets for U.S. soy in China, the
soybean checkoff funds U.S. soy market development efforts
in 80 countries around the world.
3. As a nation, we are becoming increasingly health
conscious, and I know that soy is regarded as having positive
health benefits. What has the checkoff program done to help
document these health benefits if at all? In addition, we are
all aware of the issue of trans fats in the foods we eat. Is
this an issue for soybeans and if so, what has been done to
address it?
The soybean checkoff has been instrumental in funding the
necessary research to document the health benefits of soy.
Early on, state and national soybean checkoff organizations
funded the scientific research that helped lead to the U.S.
Food & Drug Administration's health claim in 1998 linking the
benefits of soy to reducing the risk of heart disease. Also,
USB's Soy Health Research Program has invested about $500,000
to assist scientists in submitting soy-related research grant
applications, which has helped secure more than $12 million
in research funds from the National Institutes of Health.
This 24-1 return on soy research investments seeks to
document how soy's role in a healthy diet can reduce the risk
of such diseases as breast cancer, prostate cancer and
osteoporosis.
Second, in the late 1990s, USB identified trans fat as an
issue that could have a major impact on the future
utilization of soybean oil. The checkoff established an
initiative to determine food industry trends and needs, which
eventually led to the creation of QUALISOY in 2004. This
collaborative U.S. soybean industry-wide effort helped
accelerate the development of new soybean varieties with oil
that requires little or no hydrogenation and, therefore, is
free of trans fats and ultimately lower in saturated fats.
This year, U.S. soybean farmers are expected to plant up to
1.75 million acres of these new varieties, which also provide
additional profit opportunities to U.S. soybean farmers.
4. We are also aware of the threat of Asian Soybean Rust to
the American soybean farmer. I am pleased that USDA so
quickly responded with specific programs to counter this
threat. How, if at all, were checkoff funds used to assist
this effort? How else, if at all, have either state or
national checkoff funds been used to benefit soybean
production, either by increasing yields or dealing with
pests?
Similar to our efforts to increase soybean exports, the
challenge to minimize the impact of Asian Soybean Rust
provides a good example of how checkoff investments made by
soybean farmers can be leveraged with federal government
dollars to benefit us--and ultimately all consumers--with a
safe, abundant supply of soy. Beginning in 2005, the soybean
checkoff helped coordinate and fund an early-warning system
for soybean rust through a cooperative effort with USDA. The
system includes an extensive series of sentinel plots planted
to soybeans that receive regular monitoring for rust and
other plant pests and diseases. This system keeps us well
informed about the spread of rust and helps us scout, monitor
and manage our crops to prevent or minimize yield loss from
this potentially devastating disease.
More broadly, finding solutions to soybean yield-robbing
pests and diseases traditionally has ranked as USB's second
largest investment area. For example, in 2001, USB-funded
researchers published breakthrough research identifying
specific genes in the Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN), the
leading cause of soybean yield loss from plant diseases. This
helped serve as basis for more durable SCN resistance in
soybean varieties. Just last year, researchers funded by the
soybean checkoff published genetic markers for two rust-
resistant genes. This allows soybean breeders to incorporate
these genes into
breeding programs without laborious testing against the
harmful disease. We expect this to lead to new rust-resistant
varieties in the next four to five years. These are just a
few examples of how the soybean checkoff has helped me and
other U.S. soybean farmers prevent or reduce soybean yield
loss from harmful plant pests and diseases. No doubt, these
efforts have helped U.S. soybean production grow from 1.98
billion bushels in 1991 to a record 3.18 billion bushels in
2006.
5. I know that soy products have been featured in the
federal government's bioproducts support program. Are you
aware of what soy products have been featured in this effort
and if so, could you elaborate on how, if at all, national or
state checkoff funds have been utilized to develop any of
these products?
This is an area of special interest to me since I served
three terms as chair of USB's New Uses program and one year
as team lead of our Biobased Products Initiative. Our surveys
show U.S. soybean farmers believe developing new soy uses,
such as soy-based inks, plastics, lubricants, adhesives and
solvents, should be a top priority of our checkoff. The
most notable new industrial uses for soy developed by the
soybean checkoff include soy biodiesel and soy ink. But
hundreds of soy-based products, many developed with the
help of soybean checkoff-funded research, now also fill
our ever-growing Soy Products Guide, a catalog of soy-
based bioproducts we publish annually. Recognizing the
purchasing power of the federal government, the soybean
checkoff has taken the lead in familiarizing federal
purchasing officials with the availability and benefits of
these products through workshops held in the nation's
capital. Last year, USDA finalized its list of the first
six categories of biobased items that would be awarded
purchasing preference under the federal bioproducts
support program. USB has funded research and marketing
efforts with companies that make up three of the six
categories, which include soy-based mobile hydraulic
fluids, roof coatings and penetrating lubricants. Late
last year, USDA proposed that more items be designated for
preferred federal purchasing. When finalized, we
anticipate that more soy-based bioproducts developed with
the help of the soybean checkoff, such as spray foam
insulation, carpet backing, electric transformer fluids,
engine oils, cleaners and other solvents, will receive
preferred purchasing designation.
6. The Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information
Act, as passed in 1990, called for regular ROI studies to
evaluate the return to soybean farmers on their investment in
the checkoff. Have those studies been undertaken, and if so,
what were the results? If these studies do not reflect the
additional funds that may have been leveraged through the use
of checkoff funds, please expand on that point as well. In
this same context, what evidence, if any, do you have that
soybean farmers continue to support the checkoff?
Evaluation remains a cornerstone of every soybean checkoff-
funded program. All USB-funded programs must have an
evaluation component. As required by law, the soybean
checkoff has also conducted regular return-on-investment
(ROI) studies. An independent study, conducted in 1998 by
Texas A&M, found that for every checkoff dollar invested,
U.S. soybean farmers earned an additional eight dollars in
net revenue. A similar study, conducted in 2003 by World
Perspectives and AgriLogic, found a 6:1 ROI. USB's next
regular ROI study will be conducted next year.
In addition to those noted above, numerous examples exist
of how we maximize checkoff investments by achieving outside,
matching funds to benefit all U.S. soybean farmers. For
example, state and national soybean checkoff international
marketing investments, which this year total $11.3 million,
achieved a matching investment of $14.2 million in Foreign
Market Development and Market Access Program funds through
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. USB funding of the
development of the soybean genome map and development of
genetic markers helped lead to a nearly $5 million dollar
grant for soybean genomics research conducted by the
National Science Foundation. Soybean checkoff-funded
genome research also positioned soy to be chosen by the
U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute as the
next plant genome to be sequenced, a project valued at $11
million.
The federal law that created the soybean checkoff requires
that U.S. soybean farmers have an opportunity every five
years to request a referendum on continuation of the program.
In 1999, less than 3 percent of eligible soybean producers
requested a referendum on the soybean checkoff. In 2004, less
than half of 1 percent of all eligible soybean producers
requested a referendum. USB conducted its first statistically
valid, biannual soybean farmer attitudes survey in 1997. At
that time, 65 percent of soybean farmers surveyed indicated
they supported the soybean checkoff. The most recent survey
conducted earlier this year showed 73 percent of U.S. soybean
farmers support the soybean checkoff.
7. And even though it is not directly related to the role
of the United Soybean Board, what, if any, role has it played
in the broader soybean or agricultural industry that members
of Congress should know about?
The 64 farmer-directors who serve voluntarily on USB
believe it's also our responsibility to help lead the U.S.
soybean industry. Since 2002, USB has brought together state
and national soybean checkoff and association leaders and
staff for CONNECTIONS, a joint planning meeting to help
establish our research and promotion priorities and
strategies for the following three to five years. Last year,
USB took the process a step further by engaging all players
in the U.S. soybean value chain to actively take part in Soy
2020. This U.S. soybean industry-wide effort created a vision
for the future of U.S. soybeans for the next twelve years. It
focuses on four key stages: a comprehensive environmental
scan that identified key areas of emphasis; analysis of
different possible scenarios for the U.S. soybean industry;
development of the vision and strategies to support each
scenario; and a formal launch, which took place earlier this
year.
Aside from this formal joint planning meeting, the farmer-
directors of USB have also committed to a leading cause in
U.S. agriculture--supporting the livestock and poultry
industries. The animal agriculture industry is inherently
important to the soybean industry, as it is our number one
customer, consuming nearly all of the domestically used
soybean meal. The USB-led Animal Agriculture Initiative is an
effort to build support among soybean farmers and leading
agriculture organizations, including the American Farm Bureau
Federation, the Animal Agriculture Alliance, and other
checkoff organizations such as the National Pork Board. This
combined, concentrated support will not only help protect the
domestic livestock and poultry industries from unnecessary
criticism and ridicule, but will also help protect our number
one market for soybean meal.
I am confident this information will help you and other
members of Congress understand how our self-help research and
promotion program has created new U.S. soybean demand and
profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. Please let
me know if we can provide any additional information for you
and your colleagues.
The 64 volunteer soybean farmer-leaders who make up our
board truly believe we have an effective, efficient and
farmer-driven soybean checkoff.
Respectfully yours,
Eric Niemann,
Chairman, United Soybean Board (USB).