By MSGA President Jamie Beyer
I recently joined our counterparts at the Minnesota Soybean Promotion & Research Council on a visit to the trading classroom used by North Dakota State University’s Dr. Bill Wilson, an internationally recognized expert on commodity trading, risk and agribusiness. Dr. Wilson watches worldwide soybean meal and oil markets closely and excitedly announced that we are living through one of the most exciting times – from the perspective of an economist.
The soybean markets are rife with uncertainty and potential – volatility based on the typical ebbs and flows of market supply and demand, but also against the backdrop of potential and threatened federal and state legislation for sustainability pledges and carbon sequestration. Our checkoff dollars have supported the 2013 creation, establishment and ongoing promotion of the USSEC Sustainability Certification Program, a collaborative effort developed in partnership with the United Soybean Board and the American Soybean Association. While the ABCDs of our industry are rushing to impose and enforce a new margin of profit by creating their own certified pro-environment assurances, for U.S. soybean farm families, sustainability is not new. We have been documenting our sustainability commitment for nearly a decade. Ensuring that our sustainable soy is increasingly utilized as a replacement for carbon-intense materials is great for agriculture and the environment – and Goodyear’s line of tires made with soybean oil is a great example.
One personality trait that makes Minnesotans unique is our devotion to public service. The majority of families I know have a tie to their local volunteer fire departments, ambulance services and first responder units. Or they have someone who has served as a school board member, township supervisor, city councilor, mayor or county commissioner. These commitments represent far more in time and headaches than dollars; Volunteering Minnesotans plug many leadership gaps in the fabric of small-town life.
In college, I worked for two years as an EMT on the Stevens County Ambulance Service. During three 8-hour shifts, 365 days a year, we responded to car crashes, farm accidents, broken hips and drownings. At most scenes our arrival was preceded by law enforcement or fire officials, who ensured that the scene was safe and helped carry equipment or victims. Our ambulance service traveled hundreds of miles a day making daily transfers to metro and Mayo hospitals so rural patients could receive more advanced medical care in our urban hubs.
My ties to public service are why I am beyond excited about Minnesota Soybean’s upcoming 2021 promotion: to donate soybean-based Goodyear tire sets to emergency response departments across our state. With support from your soybean checkoff dollars, Goodyear has engineered a process to reduce the amount of petroleum-based chemicals in vehicle tires by using plant-based soybean oil. Free tires for response vehicles is a win for the environment, a win for farmers and a win for our Minnesota emergency services!
Goodyear’s soy tires have gained worldwide recognition: Goodyear recently received the Environmental Achievement of the Year for Tire Technology International Award for Innovation and Excellence in Hanover, Germany. Now it’s time to encourage statewide recognition by soybean county chapters coordinating new tires for our local hero departments.
Roll on, Minnesota!
Jamie Beyer farms in Wheaton.