Chester County Farmer Reappointed to United Soybean Board
New directors sworn in, new leadership elected at annual meeting
HARRISBURG, PA (December 9, 2013) – Chester County soybean grower William Beam of Elverson, Pa., was reappointed as a Director of the United Soybean Board (USB). Beam, who also serves as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Soybean Board, is one of 70 directors of the United Soybean Board. Jim Musser, a soybean grower in Mount Joy, Pa., also serves as a USB Director representing Pennsylvania growers.
With the growth in soybean acres, the USB added a new farmer-leader to the USB Board, bringing the total number of Board members to 70. That new director, from Mississippi, was sworn in with 12 other new and 22 reappointed directors at USB’s Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 6. Shortly after being sworn in, these directors took part in electing new leadership to begin the strategic-planning process for the next year. The board elected Jim Call, soybean farmer from Madison, Minn., to lead the board as USB Chairman in 2014.
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.
About the Pennsylvania Soybean Board
The Pennsylvania Soybean Board is a farmer-controlled Board responsible for managing Pennsylvania’s share of funds received from the nationwide Soybean Checkoff program. The funding is available under an assessment program, approved by Congress in 1990, under which soybean farmers contribute 50 cents of every $100 they receive for their beans at the first point of sale. Funds are used to develop markets, educate consumers, and research new ways to utilize and produce soybeans more efficiently. For more information, visit www.pasoybean.org ###