The
United Soybean Board (USB) announced new officers today while laying out priorities for its nearly $43 million soy checkoff budget for the upcoming year.
Ensuring biodiesel quality was near the top of the list of priorities discussed during this week's USB meetings, according to Vice Chairman Ike Boudreaux. "Every time the topic of biodiesel was discussed, quality was the subject," he said.
The USB's annual meeting, held this week in St. Louis, Mo., was preceded by two soybean industry strategic planning sessions. A Connections meeting focused on emerging issues in the next three to five years. Soy 2020 was a vision session to define success for the soybean industry in the year 2020. "This is a changing industry," said Chairman Eric Niemann. "We have the opportunity to look out to the year 2020 and see where we're headed and direct our resources in the best possible way."
Niemann emphasized the importance of biodiesel quality and the BQ-9000 program, which is the biodiesel industry's voluntary fuel quality assurance program. A USB survey found that nearly 50 percent of its soybean farmers use biodiesel in farm equipment.
The group discussed the global oilseeds market. U.S. producers exported approximately 1.2 billion bushels of soybeans in the past year, Niemann said. "Looking to the biofuels market, it's not just happening (in the United States)," he said. "A biofuels facility opens, on average, once every day somewhere in the world."
Opening global trade markets with China and India will be priorities for 2007, the USB said. In 2006 U.S. soybean farmers partnered with Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil to work on reverse marketing efforts in India.
Trans fats are becoming another significant issue to soybean farmers. On Tuesday the New York City Board of Health voted unanimously to require its restaurants to remove artificial trans fat over the next 18 months. Boudreaux said soy farmers planted approximately 1 million acres of low linolenic soybeans in 2006.
In September, Bunge and DuPont announced they are planning to increase their supply of low linolenic soybean oil to the food industry as a result of growing demand for trans fat alternatives. "Will we be able to fill that demand that is out there?" Boudreaux said. "It was a challenge, but I think we are addressing that issue."
Meeting soy demand may be more difficult in 2007 as farmers increase corn acreage as corn prices rise. Niemann recognized the potential for fewer soy acres, but said that record supplies are being carried into 2007.
Other new USB members include Secretary Chuck Friedrich and Treasurer Kent Gronlie. USB consists of 64 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers.
Dave Nilles is Online Editor for
Biodiesel Magazine. Reach him at
dnilles@bbibiofuels.com or (701) 373-0636.
Posted: 9:17 a.m. CST Thursday December 7, 2006