New farmer-leaders appointed to United Soybean Board

Published March 7, 2022

Source: United Soybean Board

ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the appointment of nine new U.S. soybean farmers to serve on the United Soybean Board (USB) and reappointed eight directors for an additional term. Farmer-leaders will serve a three-year term.

“With different uses of soy continuing to grow, this is an exciting time to be a USB farmer-leader. I look forward to working with these passionate individuals who will bring additional perspectives and insights, expanding our group of creative and innovative thinkers,” said Ralph Lott, USB Chair and farmer from New York. “The reappointed leaders bring back valuable experience, having worked through our Value Creation Framework process determining future checkoff investments. Together, we will move U.S. Soy forward and bring value back to the farm gate of all U.S. soybean farmers.”

U.S. soybean farmers receive an estimated $12.34 in value for every dollar they invested in the checkoff. Those investments continue to fund programs that build preference for U.S. soybeans across the country and around the world. Authorized by the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act, the checkoff is composed of 78 members representing 29 states, in addition to the Eastern and Western regions. The number of seats on the board is determined based on bushels produced in their region. Members must be soybean farmers nominated by a Qualified State Soybean Board.

“This group of farmer-leaders represents a variety of operations and unique points of view across the many growing regions of our country,” said Meagan Kaiser, USB Vice Chair and farmer from Missouri. “We all share a common goal to maximize the profit opportunities for every U.S. soybean farmer, and I’m eager to work together to strengthen our collective future.”

Newly appointed farmer-leaders include:

Arkansas – Robert Petter, De Valls Bluff
Georgia – Jesse Patrick, Madison
Indiana – Jim Douglas, Flat Rock
Minnesota – Patrick O’Leary, Benson
Missouri – Robert Alpers, Prairie Home
North Dakota – Cindy Pulskamp, Hillsboro
South Dakota – Tim Ostrem, Centerville
Virginia – Shannon Tignor Ellis, Champlain
Wisconsin – Nancy Kavazanjian, Beaver Dam (one-year term)

Reappointed farmer-leaders include:

Illinois – Lynn Rohrscheib, Fairmount
Iowa – April Hemmes, Hampton
Kentucky – Brent Gatton, Bremen
Louisiana – Garrett Marsh, Tallulah
Nebraska – Tony Johanson, Oakland
North Carolina – Benjamin Derek Potter, Grantsboro
Ohio – Jeff Magyar, Orwell
Pennsylvania – Andrew Fabin, Homer City

Newly appointed alternate(s) are:

Georgia – Mark Ariail, Carnesville
New Jersey – Fred R. Catalano, Woodstown (one-year term)
South Carolina – Charlie Whiten, Westminster (two-year term)
Eastern Region – Mark H. Kable, Charles Town, West Virginia (one-year term)

To learn about key investments made on behalf of U.S. soybean farmers, sign up for the Soy Hopper newsletter at unitedsoybean.org/newsletter.