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USB reinventing the price structure for soybeans

The chairman of the United Soybean Board (USB) says Checkoff dollars are being used to reinvent the price structure of soybeans to reward quality over quantity.

Northwest Ohio farmer John Motter tells Brownfield growers have been forced to work within a system that prefers supply over demand, which is a major reason for the slumping ag economy.

“We need to start doing things in our industry that improves the quality of the product that we are producing, and in turn we want to be paid for a better quality product.”

He calls soybean farmers price takers instead of price makers, but a new strategic vision placing more emphasis on oil and protein content has the potential to change that.

“We are engaged in a meal enhancement product.  We are working with the technology companies so that we know that we can be successful in doing that.”

The next step would be to engage major seed companies in developing varieties containing higher oil and protein content.

Motter asks farmers to be patient as USB works towards these goals.

“It doesn’t happen overnight.  We don’t change the habits or the thought-process in a year.  We don’t change the ability of the varieties in a year.  But we have to start from where we are in order to make things better.”

Motter says there should be more to growing soybeans than bushels, and he envisions a system based on quality that benefits the bottom line of the farmer.