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With more than 74 million acres planted,
the United States is the world’s largest producer
of soybeans. The American Soybean Association is the policy,
domestic marketing, new uses,
research and international marketing advocate of the U.S. soybean
farmer. (ASA photo by Bob Callanan) Inset: A shipment of 55,000 metric
ton of U.S. soybeans is unloaded at the
port of Dalian in northern China. Half the value of the U.S. soybean
crop is exported, and China is now the largest export customer for
U.S. soybeans.
(ASA photo by Bob Callanan) |
ASA Continues 85-Year Tradition
On a hot summer day in 1920, a group of
soybean farmers and extension workers in
Camden, Indiana, founded the National
Soybean Growers Association in an effort to
promote the crop and increase profit
opportunities. Renamed the American
Soybean Association (ASA) in 1929, the
Association has continued these important
efforts for 85 years.
Early soybeans presented farmers with
production and marketing challenges. Gold,
green, black, brown and mottled seeds grew
on plants ranging from ground hugging
vines to leggy stalks. Plants were difficult to
harvest and pods shattered easily. The small,
uncertain supply made many processors
unwilling to crush the beans. Feed
manufacturers and customers were leery of
using the soybean meal and cake in animal
rations.
Through the ASA, these early soybean
farmers obtained an agreement that
processors would underwrite the production of 50,000 acres at a guaranteed
minimum
price. With processors guaranteed a supply
and farmers assured of a market, production
increased.
During the 1930s, surpluses of wheat and
cotton made soybeans an attractive cash
crop. New processing methods created more
acceptable meal and oil products, and
demand for edible fats and oils encouraged
research on soybean oil for food uses.
Soybean meal proved to be an important
ingredient for balancing animal rations.
Europe began importing American soybeans
and in 1936 the Chicago Board of Trade
established a soybean futures contract.
WWII Cuts U.S. Supplies
The U.S. was importing 40 percent of its
fats and oils when World War II cut off
supplies. Soybean producers doubled
production and processors built plants to
produce the oil. But the end of the war
brought surpluses, so ASA initiated a series
of market development activities. ASA also launched legislative battles to
remove
barriers restricting the sale of margarine,
which is made from soybean oil.
By 1949, the U.S. began to turn from being
a net importer of oils, proteins and oilseeds
to a net exporter. Soybean Association
leaders traveled as technical advisors on
government missions to survey potential
markets for U.S. agricultural products. They
were convinced that Europe and Japan had
the plants, machinery, equipment, know
how and the need to use American soybean
products in large quantities.
Passage of P.L. 480, Food for Peace program
in 1954, made it possible for government
and private groups to cooperate in funding
market development through the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS), and in 1956,
ASA and FAS signed the first joint market
development contracts for work in Europe
and Japan. With this funding, ASA opened
its first international office in Tokyo.
In the 1960s, soybean stocks again became
burdensome as production exceeded usage.
High dependency on government and private
industry for research and market
development funding led farmers to initiate
farmer-funded checkoff programs. States
began forming soybean associations affiliated
with ASA to involve more farmers, and ASA
began funding research to find new uses for
soybeans and ways to reduce production
costs.
In 1975, the American Soybean Association
Market Development Foundation was
created from the American Soybean Institute
and a funding agency called the American
Association Market Development Fund. The
Fund’s purpose was to receive farmer
checkoff funds, review market development
programs and budgets, authorize ASA to
conduct these activities and pay for services
provided by ASA.
Overseas Operations Expanded
ASA opened an office in Caracas, Venezuela
in 1984, to serve the South American market.
This brought the number of ASA
international offices to 11 including Brussels,
Hamburg, Madrid, Mexico City, Peking,
Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Vienna.
ASA launched a truth-in-labeling campaign
in 1987, to call attention to the hidden use of
highly saturated tropical fats in foods. ASA
asked the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to require food
manufacturers to stop calling tropical fats
“vegetable oils” and to put an end to “and/or”
wording on food labels. The truth-in-labeling
campaign was part of a new initiative to
expand domestic use of soybeans and soybean
products.
About this time, exports to the Soviet Union
increased from 2.5 million to 91 million
bushels. Palm oil imports declined as U.S.
consumers became more concerned about
saturated fats in their diets, and soybean oil
use increased. ASA promotions for soybean
oil use to control road dust and for
newspaper printing inks also helped boost
demand.
Competition for overseas customers led to
bold new actions by ASA farmer-leaders that
set the organization on a new course in 1989.
After more than a year of study and
discussion, ASA’s farmer delegates approved a
resolution to work toward a national soybean
checkoff. Federal legislation to create a one-
half of one percent checkoff for market
promotion, research and industry education
was introduced.
Years of ASA market promotion in Eastern
Europe and continuing efforts in the Soviet
Union gave U.S. soybeans an advantage.
With the collapse of Communism, Romania
turned to ASA for help in ordering U.S.
soybeans. In Western Europe, ASA
implemented a major consumer education
campaign and European purchases of U.S.
soybeans increased 22 percent.
Soyfoods and Biodiesel
For each of the past two years, ASA has
hosted a soyfoods luncheon on Capitol Hill
to demonstrate why soyfoods are becoming
increasingly popular in the U.S. and overseas.
The event provides an opportunity for
policymakers and their staffs to experience
how great soyfoods taste in addition to being
good for them. ASA promotions such as this
play a big part in the success of farmer-
friendly legislation.
When the Child Nutrition and WIC
(Women, Infants and Children)
Reauthorization Act of 2004 was signed into
law on June 30, 2004, the bill marked an
important step forward for soymilk in federal
nutrition programs. As a result of ASA
lobbying, the new law allows children who
for religious, health or cultural reasons
cannot drink cow’s milk to be served soymilk
with only a note from the parent, which is a
significant improvement over the old
practice, which required a doctor’s note.
Soymilk manufacturers have expressed
enthusiasm for the new provisions and high
interest in working with schools to increase
distribution of soymilk. The value of the
ASA-supported provision to the soy industry has been estimated at millions
of dollars
annually.
And last October, ASA achieved one its most
important legislative victories when President
George W. Bush signed into law a bill
containing the first-ever biodiesel tax
incentive. Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel
made from renewable resources such as
soybean oil.
For every 100 million gallons of soy-based
biodiesel demand, the price of a bushel of
soybeans is expected to increase by 10 cents.
That could add an average of another $2,000
to the bottom line of farmers growing 500
acres of soybeans. The tax incentive took
effect Jan. 1, 2005, and lasts for two years.
It is expected to provide an economic surge in
several sectors of the U.S. economy including
manufacturing, agriculture, and all sectors
that provide support services to these
industries. It’s estimated that the tax
incentive could create up to 50,000 jobs in
the U.S. over the next 10 years. The
provisions will significantly benefit the U.S.
economy and could increase U.S. gross
output by almost $7 billion.
From its humble beginnings, the ASA has
nurtured and promoted U.S. soybeans into
an $18 billion industry while maintaining
soybeans as a viable cropping opportunity for
U.S. producers. Today, soybeans are planted
on more than 74 million acres, which
represents 28 percent of all U.S. cropland.
It is the vision of ASA’s leaders that the
Association will lead a dynamic industry
supplying the preferred soy products to the
world, while improving the quality of life and
the environment.
Contact Information:
Bob Callanan, Communications Director
American Soybean Association
12125 Woodcrest Executive Drive, Suite 100
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141 U.S.A.
Phone: (314) 576-1770 or 1-800-688-7692,
Fax: (314) 576-2786
www.SoyGrowers.com |
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