For the second time in three years, the yearly highlights from Minnesota’s soybean checkoff program earned a national marketing award.
Ag Management Solutions, the Minnesota-based company that oversees the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC), earned a first-place award for the Council’s 2019 Annual Report at the 2021 National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Awards Ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Council was recognized for its comic-book themed 2019 Annual Report, which featured the year’s checkoff projects and investments in research, trade and value-added products. The Annual Report was produced with art direction from Minnesota-based Funkiture. Beck’s Hybrids and the American Soybean Association were among the other entries in the category. The Council also won the Best Company Publications-Annual Report award in 2019, and has been nominated for four straight years. The 2020 Annual Report was included in the May-June 2021 issue of Soybean Business.
“We have a dedicated, creative team of communicators who put in the work every day to spotlight our farmers and the value of the soybean checkoff,” AMS Senior Director of Communications Doug Monson said. “This award is a validation of the vision set forth by our farmer-led board.”
Every time a Minnesota soybean farmer sells soybeans, one half of 1% of the market price is checked off. Half of the checkoff is utilized by Minnesota, while the other half is overseen by the United Soybean Board. For 30 years, the soybean checkoff has made investments into research, promotion, developing value-added products and increasing market access. The mission of the checkoff is aimed at improving profitability for the nearly 28,000 soybean farmers in Minnesota and the more than half-million soybean producers in America.
Soybean Business, the official publication of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, was also nominated after receiving a Merit award for Best Company and Association magazine at the Regional 3 awards ceremony in January. Soybean Business submitted three issues for consideration: its November-December 2019, May-June 2020 and July-August 2020 issues.
Both MSR&PC and MSGA were also nominated for the free weekly e-newsletter, Minneline, which is sent to more than 4,000 readers each Thursday. Click here to subscribe.
NAMA honors the best in agricultural marketing communications and received nearly 1,000 submissions this year. The 2022 NAMA awards will be held in April 2022.
