The chairman of the United Soybean Board (USB) says an effort is underway to reinvent the price structure of soybeans to reward quality over quantity. John Motter says 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,” Motter says.

John Motter – Chairman of the United Soybean Board

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,” Motter says.

The next step would be to engage major seed companies in developing varieties containing higher oil and protein content. Motter is asking farmers to be patient as the USB works toward these goals. “It doesn’t happen overnight,” Motter says. “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. Iowa was the number two soybean producing state in the U-S last year, with just over 550 million bushels. Illinois topped the list with just under 561 million bushels produced in 2016.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Mark Dorenkamp, Brownfield Ag News)