At a recent seminar, was able to get into a discussion about how leading associations are able to maintain and grow their membership. The topic is very important to the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) as we have made major changes to our membership approach in the last few months. After 45 years of having to pay dues to be a member of ISA, if you pay the soybean checkoff in Iowa, there is no longer a need to do so.

All you have to do is sign up to be an ISA member is visit our web site at www.iasoybeans.com. Once you do, you are eligible to participate in numerous ISA programs and if you chose, receive a number of informative newsletters. I hope you take advantage of this opportunity to be a member of “Your ISA. Your Way.”

At the seminar, our presenter shared that many associations are “failing to recognize that members are focused on value received and the quality of experience, not value delivered.” In other words, it is not enough to provide opportunities and products that look good and read well. What members are looking for are experiences and services that are top notch and make a difference in their life or in their chosen field of endeavor.

For ISA, this means that we must continue to be farmer focused. We must constantly seek to understand the needs of Iowa’s soybean farmers and do all that we can to meet those needs. But the key is make sure that you, the farmer members, have the opportunity to tell us whether or not value has been received and whether any and all experiences with ISA were of high quality.

ISA attempts to listen in various ways. First and foremost, the 21 farmer directors of ISA are real farmers elected by farmers in each of Iowa’s 9 crop districts. Last year 2800 farmers participated in our director elections. Second, ISA has created District Advisory Councils in each crop district. Each of these 9 councils has 9 – 12 farmer participants and is chaired by the ISA directors in that district. These 100 farmers are providing excellent feedback and suggestions to our 21 elected directors.

Additionally, ISA staff and farmer directors attend dozens of farmer meetings across the state every year, meeting with farmers and listening to your concerns. We have a great opportunity to meet hundreds of farmers this summer at the Farm Progress Show near Boone. Like everyone else, we also conduct phone and mail surveys in order to better understand what is on the minds of Iowa’s farmers. And we use social media tools to engage in two-way communications.

I would enjoy the opportunity to hear from you on the value you receive and the quality of your experiences with ISA.

A recent report by an international market research organization projects that China will become the world’s biggest grocery market by 2014. Growing at a rate three times as fast as the United States, by 2014 the China grocery market will be worth over $1.04 trillion.

As a major component of hundreds of food products and a key ingredient in livestock and poultry feed, soybeans and soybean products from Iowa will remain in high demand for years to come. To stay current on this important market, log on our web site at www.iasoybeans.com to learn how to receive a free newsletter written by writers on the ground in China.

During its recent board meeting, the United Soybean Board, the national soybean checkoff organization voted to continue to contract with the United States Soybean Export Council to conduct their international market development activities. This decision allows soybean farmers to continue to leverage soybean checkoff dollars with over $14 million in USDA/Foreign Ag Services dollars received by the American Soybean Association. A partnership that has helped lead to record exports of US soybean over the last several years.

It was an important decision and means that the American Soybean Association and the United Soybean Board will continue to work together on behalf of US soybean farmers. As the leading producer of soybeans in the country, this partnership remains important to Iowa and its 45,000 soybean farmers.

Supporting and developing future leaders in agriculture is a key focus of the Iowa Soybean Association. One way we do so is by awarding scholarships to Iowa’s high school seniors who are going to pursue a degree in agriculture or an agriculture related field.

This year we anticipate awarding 10, $1500 scholarships to outstanding students attending an Iowa two or four year college or university. Other key criteria for the scholarship include academic excellence and community involvement.

Interested students should contact their high school guidance counselor or give the ISA a call at 800/383-1423 or log on our web site at www.iasoybeans.com

Earlier this year, the Iowa Soybean Association announced a new approach to membership, allowing soybean farmers in Iowa who pay the soybean checkoff the opportunity to become a member for free. If you pay the checkoff, all you have to do is sign up to be a member.

And this week we launch an electronic newsletter with news and analysis about soybean production and industry developments across South America. It’s an exciting new partnership between ISA and DTN/Progressive Farmer and CropSpotters.

To become a member of ISA and to receive this informative newsletter, log on our web site at www.iasoybeans.com

A recent study funded by the Soy Transportation Coalition found that nearly half of all soybeans hauled by US railroads are at a level classified as “potentially excessive” – a level defined as 180% higher than a railroad’s variable cost.
The impact on US soybean farmers? Lower basis from an estimated overcharge of $120 million in 2007.
At a time of increased exports of Iowa and US soybeans via rail to the Pacific Northwest, it is more important than ever that farmers are able to move soybeans and soybean products on an efficient and cost competitive rail system.
Clearly, the rail industry needs to have sufficient profits in order to provide service. But farmers need profits as well. As a founding member of the Soybean Transportation Coalition, ISA will continue to support efforts to make sure these profits are fair and balanced.
To see a copy of the study, log on STC’s web site at www.soytransportation.org

“Image of Agriculture”
This past year, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) began to form nine district advisory councils across the state; one for each of Iowa’s nine crop districts. Made up of 9 – 12 farmers, the purpose of the councils is to provide input and feedback to ISA’s district directors and to the organization as a whole.
As you may recall, these district advisory councils are an important component of ISA’s new membership approach which allows any and all Iowa soybean farmers to become members of the association at no additional cost. Soybean farmers in Iowa already make a substantial investment in their industry through their soybean checkoff and thus have earned the right to be member of ISA. To become a member, all you have to do is go to our web site (www.iasoybeans.com) and sign up. When you do, you will see that we have added a number of valuable benefits at no cost to our producer members. One benefit alone (subscription to Agri-Pulse) has a value of more than $400/year. I encourage you to become a member today.
One of the areas of concern that we are hearing from our members and our district advisory councils is related to the image that the public has about farmers and agriculture. These concerns have also been raised in numerous publications and in editorials over the last several months. Most of the negative stuff seems to be driven by concerns about the impact that biofuels is having on the price of commodities and overall land use. But we have also seen stories about “modern” agriculture versus “traditional” agriculture and whether or not modern production practices are safe and sustainable.
Often, I hear comments from farmers that “we in agriculture need to do a better job in telling our story.” I guess I don’t really disagree, but at the same time, I am not exactly sure what that means. Do we want consumers to appreciate us more? Do we want policy makers and regulators to understand the challenges we face so that we aren’t saddled with unnecessary roadblocks and hurdles? Do we want to educate consumers so that we increase their confidence in the safety and nutrition of the food we produce? Do we want our neighbors to understand what we do so that they don’t complain about dust, odor and slow moving vehicles?
Some of you might simply respond with, YES, we need to do all those things. But how do we pay for such efforts? Are producers willing to see a reduction in research funding to lower costs and increase production in order to pay for an image campaign? Are we okay with reduced efforts to build demand and increase market access?
I encourage you to join ISA in these discussions. This is clearly an important discussion for all of us in agriculture.

Earlier this month, the British publication, The Times, ran an interesting story that strongly recommended that the organic movement in Europe overcome its hostility to genetically modified crops and instead embrace the technology.

Gordon Conway, Professor of International Development at Imperial College of London and a former government advisor stated that the ban on organic farmers using GM crops needed to change and instead we should use the best aspects of organic methods and GM technology.

With global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 and the resulting need for increased food production. Sounds like good advice to me. To truly be sustainable, the common sense use of technology must be a part of agricultural production practices.

Corn and soybean farmers, are you looking for an opportunity to improve the operation of your farm? And to do so based on research results from real farms all across Iowa?

If so, you won’t want to miss the Iowa Soybean Association’s On Farm Network Conference February 23 in the Scheman Building on the campus of Iowa State University. Some of the key research results to be shared during the conference include; fungicide use on corn and soybeans, nitrogen fertilizer management and a session on ways to avoid common application errors in manure management.
To learn more, and to register to attend, log on our conference web site at www.isafarmnet.com

This annual conference is highly attended so I encourage you to register today.

The development of soy based inks remains one of the biggest and earliest successes of the soybean checkoff. Commercial printers began using soy based inks more than 20 years ago, and the Cedar Rapid Gazette was one of the very first in the country.

For many years, the Iowa Soybean Association and its staff provided national and international leadership in efforts to promote soy ink, including forming and staffing the National Soy Ink Information Center.

Building on that success, the Ohio Soybean Council has partnered with others to develop environmentally friendly toner that contains soybean oil and can be used in select home and office printers. Testing by Iowa State University found that these new soy-based toners are 37 percent biobased, highest among all currently available toners.

To learn more about the many new uses for soybeans created by the soybean checkoff, log on our web site at www.iasoybeans.com