The news is out: U.S. soybeans are in fashion.  

The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) remains committed to supporting and building the identity preserved soybean industry, investing checkoff dollars in the U.S. Identity Preserved International Summit March 22-24. 

This year, the U.S. Identity Preserved International Summit went worldwide, welcoming 160 participants from 18 countries to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. After the conclusion of a Northern Soy Marketing trade mission in Vietnam, MSR&PC Treasurer Glen Groth made his way down the street to attend the Summit before heading home to attend MSR&PC’s spring board meeting and make final preparations for the 2026 planting season.  

“It was great to meet attendees from around the world and really understand what their needs are and how we, as growers, can better meet those needs,” said Groth, who farms near Ridgeway. “I really liked hearing about the ways that the United States Identity Preserved Alliance facilitates the export of specialty soy and grains.” 

Hosted by the U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance, the leading voice for the industry that delivers traceable, high-quality, variety-specific field crops to food markets across the globe, this year’s Summit was a catalyst for robust discussions and networking experiences centered around the identity preserved agriculture industry.  

Boasting an agenda packed with industry experts, keynote speakers included U.S. Soybean Export Council CEO Jim Sutter; Jinhwa F.I. CEO Jin Yoon; World Initiative for Soy in Human Health Program Manager Tate Jeffries; and Edil Vidal Torres, a food technologist and scientist at Northern Crops Institute. Insight from Paul Newnham, CEO of SDG2 Advocacy Hub, spotlighted the Hub’s “Beans is How” campaign aiming to double global bean and other pulse consumption by 2028 and the role identity preserved crops can play in the movement.  

“Identity preservation is not just a technical system, it’s a promise,” Newnham said. “A promise that what was planted is what will be delivered. A promise of integrity from seed to shipment. A promise that trust can travel across oceans.”  

That promise is what makes the U.S. Identity Preserved International Summit critical to U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance’s vision to promote and enhance value throughout the supply chain, from farmer to food business. MSR&PC CEO Tom Slunecka was a featured speaker during the program’s second day, outlining the Council’s checkoff investments in research, promotion and education, emphasizing its work on NovelSoy, a non-GMO, high-oleic soybean variety.  

“Minnesota soybean farmers and researchers are leading the way in producing varieties that food markets around the world are looking for,” Slunecka said. “MSR&PC knows that supporting and growing identity preserved export markets is crucial for Minnesota growers, making its support of the U.S. Identity Preserved International Summit instrumental for enhancing the state’s soy industry.”  

Other speakers included on the agenda included Matt Tripodi of Euromonitor; Hans Eisenbeis with The Non-GMO Project; buckwheat researcher Dr. Krzysztof Dziedzic; and Shinsuke Yamada of Yamada Foods. The Summit also featured a U.S. IP growers panel, contracting and CME panel and transportation panel, generating productive discussions around topics essential to the industry.   

“I really enjoyed the presentations that provided an overall perspective about exports and the food industry market here in Southeast Asia,” said Groth, who introduced the U.S. IP growers panel. “I will keep those in the back of my head when I’m discussing international trade in the future.” 

With Minnesota as a leading producer of identity preserved crops, MSR&PC takes its investments seriously, strategically supporting events like the Summit to connect the producers, exporters and buyers of identity preserved agriculture and grow market opportunities for Minnesota growers. MSR&PC has supported the U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance (formerly known as the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance) since its creation in 2019. Council Chair Gail Donkers currently serves on the U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance board.  

“Our investment in the U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance and the Summit is important because the Alliance helps facilitate the markets that add value to the crops farmers grow in Minnesota,” Groth said. “If we can expand that market for IP crops, more farmers can participate, which puts money back in rural communities. If MSR&PC can help, that means that more soy farmers benefit.”