As the saying goes, “The future depends on what we do in the present.”
That adage is top of mind for leaders of the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC).
“The soybean industry is continually faced with new challenges,” MSR&PC CEO Tom Slunecka said. “The checkoff is always thinking ahead on how we can be more effective and proactive, not only for our soybean farmers, but the researchers.”
Enter the Future of Soy Summit.
Every two years, the checkoff hosts the Future of Soy Summit to bring together farmers, industry leaders and researchers to challenge the status quo and address these issues head on.
After identifying those topics around current challenges, a robust agenda is built.
Diving deeper
Every leadership path looks different, but they all start with a step.
For current Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) Vice President Ryan Mackenthun, leaping into leadership meant immersing himself in unfamiliar topics.
“I remember walking into one of my first board meetings and they were talking about dredging the Mississippi River,” Mackenthun said during an emerging leader panel. “I felt like I was in way over my head, but after a few meetings and a few discussions with other directors, I quickly became more engaged with the happenings within the organization.”
For MSR&PC Vice Chair Gail Donkers, her pathway to leadership looked different. From being involved in numerous organizations, Donkers mentioned finding the organizations that you are passionate about.
“It is important to find your people,” Donkers said. “And that is what (Minnesota) Soybean has done for me.”
Donkers credits her family and her job at Minnesota Farmers Union in aiding in her ability to volunteer.
“I was told when I first started my job at Minnesota Farmers Union, ‘Your position at Minnesota Soybean is just as important as your job at Minnesota Farmers Union. If you work hard at your job at Minnesota Farmers Union, I will let you go do whatever you need to do with Minnesota Soybean because you’re fighting for Minnesota farmers every day you are working there.’”
The future isn’t just the challenges the soybean industry faces, but also the next leaders making those decisions to increase soybean profitability.
Therefore, the Summit not only brings current soy leaders to the table but identifies individuals who want to further their leadership within the organization.
Meeker County soybean farmer Cole Anderson’s leadership track started at the Emerging Workshop program held at this year’s past MN Ag Expo, which was launched in 2024 by MSGA and supported by the soy checkoff.
“I wanted to learn how everything is affiliated, and learn the direction soy is moving forward, too,” Anderson said.
As for Kelsey Henke, her experience with the checkoff was much different. For the past couple years, she has been a leader on the county board level for the Nicollet-Sibley County Corn & Soybean Growers.
“I looked at this as an opportunity to grow what I can do for our county and eventually do for the state level,” Henke said. “I am here to soak up as much as I can to be better in future.”
Combating agronomic issues, building demand
The pesky pests, wheezily weeds and damning diseases all hold weight for a farmer. Farmers continue to push forward to combat these yield-robbing issues, and they can’t achieve those goals without checkoff-supported researchers.
Cue the Table Talks. The Summit hosted rotating Table Talks bringing in farmers, researchers and industry leaders to engage with current and future issues.
“The Future of Soy Summit is a continuation of a program the soy checkoff started years ago,” said Tom Frisch, MSR&PC chair. “What I like best about the Summit is the conversation between researchers and farmers. Through those discussions, the soy checkoff can be invested more strategically on behalf of the state’s farmers.”
Table Talks included:
- Soybean Breeding/Genetics
- Agronomy/Physiology
- Disease Management
- Insect Management
- Weed Management
- Nutrient Management
- Biobased Product Adoption
- Triggers to Adoption of New Animals Feeds
Table Talks went beyond just agronomic issues. Growers and stakeholders discussed building demand for soy by developing soy-based products.
“We need to think about the crops we grow just a little bit differently,” Slunecka said. “We need to better explore the interconnectivity of researchers out in the field and the researchers that are developing products from our crops.”
Future is bright
SoyFoam, Goodyear tires and Skechers shoes are just a few examples of soy-based products that started with a futuristic concept and developed into the products they are today. Currently, with checkoff support, more than 1000 soy-based products are commercially available. Other topics of panels included presentations from University of Minnesota researchers on emerging agronomic issues, the biobased economy and futuristic concepts in agriculture.
Following the Summit, farmer leaders and researchers take the information they obtained and build ideas to solve problems they face now – and problems potentially facing them in the future.
“The future is soy,” Slunecka said. “Our goal is to increase soybean profitability and by hosting the Future of Soy Summit, we are bringing in the key players to help move ag forward.”
