This article was featured as the cover story in the May-June 2026 issue of Soybean Business. Click here to read the digital issue. 

In a crowded field packed with soy checkoff pioneers, Sander “Sandy” Ludeman stands tall among the giants of the industry.  

“The United Soybean Board (USB) exists today thriving, transparent and farmer-led because Sandy and his peers built it right the first time,” said Ludeman’s friend and Mississippi farmer Jerry Slocum.  

In the late 1980s, when soybean prices were stuck around (and often below) $6 per bushel, Ludeman, a southwest Minnesota farmer, held greater ambitions for the miracle bean and helped develop legislation and campaigned to build a national coalition among industry partners to create the soy checkoff through its first farmer referendum. Ludeman’s leadership would lead to the federal soybean checkoff’s inclusion in the 1990 Farm Bill.  

To get there required grit, persistence and Ludeman’s stubborn belief in the bean.  

“We had to prove to farmers that this national checkoff would work,” Ludeman said. “That was a challenge in and of itself.”  

Over time, Ludeman more than proved his, and the checkoff’s, worth. From 1991-92, he served as USB’s first chairman. With USB celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2026, Slocum nominated Ludeman for the prestigious Tom Oswald Legacy of Leadership Award (TOLA), which industry leaders who have left an indelible mark on the U.S. soy industry and exemplify the character of the late Tom Oswald, a farmer leader who consistently asked, “How do we make it better-er?” 

And Sandy Ludeman is arguably the best of the best.  

“Sandy Ludeman embodies the spirit of the TOLA: A farmer whose leadership was rooted in integrity, fairness and a deep belief in the power of collective action,” Slocum said. 

Oswald was dedicated to taking extra steps and efforts needed to exceed expectations and deliver the best possible outcomes – attributes that Ludeman personified throughout his agricultural career.   

“Sandy was instrumental in building USB into what it is today, and he obviously earned the respect of his peers,” said USB Secretary Tom Frisch, a Dumont, Minn., farmer who was involved in selecting the award winner. “I had a chance to have supper with Sandy and the past chairs, and it’s fascinating to learn how the checkoff has grown, and the role people like Sandy played in making the checkoff into what it is today. It’s quite an achievement.”  

Cherry on top 

Ludeman had planned to attend the 2026 Commodity Classic in San Antonio for the annual USB reunion with his fellow past chairs. He wasn’t sure what to expect when told he would be honored at the American Soybean Association’s (ASA) Award Dinner. It wasn’t until the afternoon of the event that Ludeman learned of the specific award he was receiving.  

“I was surprised,” Ludeman said. 

With a history of farmer leadership dating back over 50 years, Ludeman has become accustomed – though also humbled – to being recognized for his efforts. In 2010, his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, presented Ludeman with the Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture. Ludeman used his $50,000 stipend to create the Sander and Peggy Ludeman Land Grant Scholarship for students enrolled in UMN’s College of Food, Agricultural Natural Science (CFANS). In 2018, he earned CFANS’ Lifetime Achievement Award. For Ludeman, a 1969 UMN agricultural economics graduate, that honor was a full-circle moment: The award presentation took place in the St. Paul Student Center, where a half-century earlier, he worked overnights as a student janitor. Sandy and his wife, Peggy, were also named ASA’s 2002 Conservationists of the Year for planting over 2,000 trees across their three farmsteads and supporting wildlife, along with minimum tillage practices. The Ludemans have since earned several conservation awards.  

But winning the TOLA award alongside his peers might have been the cherry on top for this retired farmer, showing that his peers appreciate Ludeman’s monumental impact on the soy checkoff.  

“It’s probably one of the more premier ones,” Ludeman said. “It’s the first time it’s been given to a farmer leader, so, being that fact, it’s pretty significant.” 

Ludeman delivered his speech to a capacity crowd of farmer directors, friends and industry leaders, peppering his remarks by mixing soy checkoff history with a pep talk from a farmer whose vision helped U.S. Soy’s global reputation prosper, even during tough times.  

“Our greatest accomplishment is building demand,” he said. “The checkoff has done its job in creating demand and increasing the value of our soybeans.”  

Promoting U.S. soybeans is infectious, Ludeman said, rooted in a decades-long collective effort to uplift an entire industry through taking full, not half, measures.  

“I accept this award with humble appreciation. Some of us (who) get involved in soybeans, it seems like it runs through our veins,” Ludeman told the audience at Commodity Classic. “We have demonstrated to the world what the American soybean industry can be, and we’re still going forward.” 

Building opportunities 

The Ludeman family, and a long line of Sanders, has farmed the land in Tracy, Minn., since the early 1900s. Sander V was born in 1947 (his grandson Sander VII was born in 2002). Though quiet and reserved, Sandy found his voice through agricultural leadership upon attending the UMN, which led to participation in the Danforth Fellowship Foundation. He also met his future wife, Peggy, through high school 4-H; the two married in 1969, the same year Sandy graduated from college.  

In the 1970s, Ludeman was farming soybeans and corn and raising livestock with his brothers Brian and Carl. He then joined the newly formed Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, which passed its first half-cent checkoff by a 75% majority in 1973, nearly 20 years before the federal checkoff was enacted. MSR&PC’s earliest checkoff investments were directed toward developing public soybean varieties. In 1981, Ludeman became the youngest chair in the Council’s history and served in the role until 1984. That same year, Minnesota tried and narrowly failed to secure a two-cent checkoff program.  

“It was a disappointment,” Ludeman recalled, “but we kept rolling along.”  

Undaunted, in 1985 Ludeman served on the precursor to the United Soybean Board, the American Soybean Development Foundation, focusing on an increasing need for farmer-funded research, building new markets and creating value-added uses for soybeans. Though extensive outreach was needed, momentum continued toward creating a national checkoff.  

“We always thought there were more opportunities in the market,” Ludeman said.  

Ludeman didn’t exactly step into a ready-made position as USB chairman. When the national soy checkoff launched in September 1991, he navigated early skepticism from grain industry partners and state organizations. He was also tasked with hiring USB’s first CEO, accountant and secretary to oversee a $17 million budget. Times have changed: In 1991, the U.S. soybean crop was under 2 billion bushels. Today, the nearly half-million U.S. soybean growers harvest over 4 billion bushels. Meanwhile, USB’s staff has since expanded to nearly 50 employees who oversee the checkoff’s $121 million budget for fiscal year 2026. 

Ludeman also played a pivotal role in promoting international trade. He helped open USB’s first international office in Moscow — “I literally moved the furniture in” — worked with livestock producers in Venezuela and also participated in an early trade mission to China, which has since become far and away the largest market for U.S. soy. He was also involved in biodiesel engine testing and promoting new uses for soybean oil decades before sustainability became a widespread industry initiative. Ludeman reflected the principle that all soybean farmers, regardless of location or operation size, should contribute and benefit equally from checkoff investments. 

We’re all in this together, Ludeman said.  

“At its core, the soy checkoff is about farmers believing in their own future,” Ludeman said. “In the early days, USB very carefully and strategically began directing farmer investments across international marketing, domestic demand, new uses and production research. Through this initial work, we were confident we could change the entire trajectory of our industry, and we’ve done that over the last three decades. Those early investments in markets like China, in biodiesel and in soy-based products, created opportunities that simply did not exist before, ultimately creating long-term value for soybean farmers and the agriculture industry as a whole.”  

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ludeman shaped the structure and governance of what became the farmer-funded investment mechanism serving U.S. soybean farmers nationwide. As founding chair, Ludeman helped draft the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act.  

A 1989 Soybean Digest article called the proposed checkoff the “biggest gamble ever.” Today, current USB leaders look back with awe on what Ludeman and his colleagues accomplished.  

“These guys had some great ideas and great ambition to push the checkoff forward,” said USB Director Lawrence Sukalski, who represents Minnesota on USB alongside Frisch and Joel Schreurs. “To think where we’re at 35 years later is quite an achievement. It’s a heckuva good story.”  

After completing his chair term, Ludeman channeled his energy toward chairing the Vote Yes Committee to secure support for a soy checkoff referendum. Because the group couldn’t use checkoff funds to promote the referendum, Ludeman had to raise funds and coalesce support from industry partners. As a result, he spent nearly six months on the road between 1992-1993. Back on the farm in southwest Minnesota, Peggy helped shoulder the load.  

“She’s been the best partner all the way through,” Sandy said. “For a lot of those years, she was mom and part-time dad.”  

The sacrifices weren’t in vain for Ludeman and his colleagues: In 1994, the first national soy checkoff referendum passed by an overwhelming majority.  

Golden years 

Sandy and Peggy retired from the farm three years ago, making way for Sandy’s nephew Ben to operate the fourth-generation farm. Sandy now lives in Bloomington to be closer to his grandchildren and their myriad sporting activities. Meanwhile, he’s watched as Minnesota and the national soy checkoff has widened its reach. The checkoff helped build the biodiesel industry — which new increases demand for soybeans by 13% — and continues developing new varieties and creating value-added uses from soy ink to Goodyear tires and establishing markets across the globe.  

“While I hope we can straighten things out with China, I’m glad they’re looking at other markets in Egypt and Libya and places like that,” he said. “New uses is also the place to be, and oil is carrying the weight. And with soy meal, we’re now finding ways so dairy producers can use more of it.”   

Soy checkoff-supported research has strengthened soy inclusion in poultry, pork, dairy and aquaculture diets; launched the U.S. Soy Center for Animal Nutrition & Health; and expanded soy-based industrial applications to more than 1,000 consumer products — replacing petroleum-based materials, plastics, PFAS or “forever chemicals” and formaldehyde in products ranging from tires and turf to asphalt and firefighting foam. To maintain global competitiveness, farmers are also investing in infrastructure and export capacity — supporting inland waterway improvements, port expansion at the Pacific Northwest and Gulf and Great Lakes, and partnerships that serve developing, emerging and mature markets across the globe. 

When the federal checkoff was first proposed, industry economics estimated the program would generate $60 million annually. By 2023, the soy checkoff was generating $157.5 million. Today, for every dollar farmers invest into the checkoff, growers earn $12.30 in return value, and more than $18 when international marketing efforts are included. The checkoff also continues to see widespread endorsement from U.S. farmers: In 2024, only 207 growers requested a checkoff referendum, far below the required 10 percent threshold.   

“Because of what farmers have built together over 35 years, we’ve been able to create entirely new markets and categories like biodiesel, expand exports around the world and develop tools that protect yield on the farm,” said current USB Chair Brent Gatton. “The soy checkoff isn’t just about dollars invested from the half-million U.S. soybean farmers — it’s about giving them the power to shape their own future and delivering lasting impact.” 

While he’s passed the torch to the next generation, Sandy Ludeman is still invested in the checkoff’s past, present and future. After all, it’s in his blood.  

“I wish everyone well and want to see the checkoff keep moving ahead,” he said.  

To view a short, video of Ludeman from the awards ceremony, visit USB’s YouTube page.