Pennsylvania Farmer Appointed to United Soybean Board
Ten Returning, Six New Directors Will Be Sworn In at Annual Meeting
HARRISBURG, PA (October 18, 2012) – Sixteen farmer-leaders, including Jim Musser from Lancaster County, Pa., will be sworn in as directors of the United Soybean Board (USB) in December, after their recent appointments by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The 16 soybean farmers from across the United States include six new appointees and 10 returning directors. These volunteer farmers invest soy checkoff funds on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers in projects to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil; ensure U.S. farmers and their customers maintain the freedom and infrastructure to operate; and meet the needs of U.S. soy’s customers.
All appointees will serve three-year terms, beginning Dec. 6, when they’ll be sworn in at USB’s annual meeting in St. Louis. Qualified State Soybean Boards (QSSBs) nominated all of the appointees.
“We look forward to welcoming the new and returning directors to our board,” says USB Chair Vanessa Kummer, a soybean farmer from Colfax, N.D. “We are confident they, like the others on the board, are committed to leveraging checkoff dollars for projects that maximize the profit potential of all U.S. soybean farmers.”
In addition to Musser, who is returning for another term as a USB Director, appointed farmer-leaders include:
• James H. Carroll III, Arkansas*
• Todd A. Gibson, Missouri*
• Walter L. Godwin, Georgia
• Mark Caspers, Nebraska*
• David P. Hartke, Illinois*
• Morris L. Shambley, North Carolina
• Mark A. Seib, Indiana
• Jay M. Myers, North Dakota
• Laura L. Foell, Iowa*
• John B. Motter, Ohio*
• Dennis R. Clark, Kentucky*
• Raymond S. Schexnayder Jr., Louisiana*
• David G. Iverson, South Dakota
• James A. Call, Minnesota*
• Robert W. White Jr., Virginia
* Indicates returning director.
The 69 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 Pa. 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. The efforts of the checkoff are directed by the United Soybean Board, composed of 69 volunteer farmer-leaders who are appointed to the national board by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.