BONUS: The Soybean Checkoff Story

April 28, 2026

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the soybean checkoff, we’re bringing you a bonus episode of The Bean Scene!  In this episode, Jerry Slocum shares the story behind how the soybean checkoff began.

Jerry is a fifth-generation farmer from Coldwater, Mississippi, a grain elevator operator and founding director of the United Soybean Board. As the soybean checkoff celebrates its 35th anniversary, Jerry reflects on what it took to build it—from the drought of 1988 that galvanized the movement, to the spring 1989 ASA delegate meeting in St. Louis that set it in motion, to the national program that launched in 1991 and changed the industry forever.

This episode is about the long game: the people who invested in markets that didn't exist yet, built institutions that outlasted them and showed up even when the answer seemed to be no. 

This episode of The Bean Scene is brought to you by the Iowa Soybean Association and funded by the soybean checkoff.

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