On June 26, Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC)  Director Kris Folland attended his first meeting as a newly-elected member of the Northern Crops Council (NCC).

Folland replaces former MSR&PC Director Drew Parsley, who served two years on NCC, which is the governing board of the Northern Crops Institute (NCI).

Parsley served on the board that instituted the INTSOY Shortcourse at NCI. The annual Shortcourse attracts participants from all over the world to learn how to process U.S. soybeans into food and feed products. NCI also began operation of a pilot-plant Soybean Hexane crushing facility, which facilitates the creation of new value-added soybean varieties by enabling rapid small-scale creation of soymeal for testing and feeding trials.

During Folland’s first NCC meeting, the board approved the 2018 procurement of a pilot-plant vegetable oil refinery. The refinery allows for the creation of new value-added soybean varieties being developed from the University of Minnesota’s checkoff-supported soybean breeding program to be processed more quickly for industry testing.

“NCI hosts 30 domestic and international groups a year by offering world renowned programming and short courses aimed at educating buyers and processors on the benefits of buying commodities from our region” said Folland, a Halma, Minn., farmer. “NCI is the premiere technical resource for our foreign and domestic soybean customers.”

NCI is a collaborative effort among North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and South Dakota to support the promotion and market development of crops grown in this four-state region. NCI is an international meeting and learning center that brings together customers, commodity traders, technical experts, and processors for discussion, education, and technical services. Situated on the campus of North Dakota State University, in Fargo, N.D., , this unique facility is only minutes from the farm fields that yield much of the world’s food.