St. Louis, Missouri, USA
January 6, 2015
Many soybeans have been delivered to the elevator, but where will they go next? The soy checkoff invites farmers to find the answer to this question and learn about the impact that U.S. soy’s biggest customers make on farmers’ bottom lines during this year’s See for Yourself program.
From now until April 4, all U.S. soybean farmers over the age of 18 can apply for the United Soybean Board’s (USB’s) eighth annual See for Yourself program by visiting the USB website, www.UnitedSoybean.org/SeeforYourself. The program is scheduled for July 24-31.
Besides introducing the program participants to their customers and showing them the results of their checkoff investment, See for Yourself also allows the soy checkoff to learn about U.S. soybean farmers’ perspective of checkoff-funded projects.
“It’s not every day farmers have the chance to see the activities of their checkoff up close and draw their own conclusions at the same time,” says Keith Tapp, chair of the USB Audit and Evaluation Committee, which sponsors See for Yourself. “See for Yourself is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Each year, the checkoff selects 10 soybean farmers from around the country to see and evaluate the work of the checkoff firsthand. Participants come from diverse backgrounds and farming operations, but all have one thing in common: the desire to learn more about how their checkoff dollars are being invested.
Accompanied by checkoff farmer-leaders, the participants meet a variety of customers, both domestic and international, and see a variety of sites that represent end uses for U.S. soy, such as animal agriculture, the food industry, industrial uses and more.
The 70 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy’s customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.
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