D32-Lancaster Farming Saturday, March 11,1989
ASA Delegates Vote To
ST. LOUIS, MO. In a spe
cial meeting, 272 fanners serving
as American Soybean Association
(ASA) Voting Delegates have vot
ed to pursue a united nationwide
soybean checkoff.
“U.S. soybean farmers and their
profits are under attack,” said
ASA President James Lee Adams.
“Malaysian palm producers are
checking off equal to 7.7 cents per
bushel, which will generate a
$14.4 million war chest. That’s
just one commodity’s effon to
take away our sales and profits.
We soybean farmers must respond
before it’s too late.”
Recognizing the challenge,
ASA delegates acted based on
nearly a year of research and
study, 40 hours of farmer-leader
debate, 275 pages of information
and interviews will) 2,005 ASA
member and non-member
farmers.
Adams said independent
surveys conducted for ASA
showed that U.S. soybean farmers
overwhelmingly support a nation
wide soybean checkoff.
“Two-thirds of the farmers
polled said they favor a nation
wide checkoff because it is fair,”
Adams said. “Everyone who ben
efits would invest in the checkoff.
In addition to fairness, our dele
gates also supported four other
principles that farmers say they
want in a nationwide checkoff.”
“These include: farmer-run
with all decisions made by work
ing farmers; an administrative cap
where the law limits overhead
costs to no more than five percent;
a state-oriented program where SO
percent of funds would stay within
each soybean state with farmers
from the state controlling funds
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through existing state programs;
and a requirement for a farmer
referendum to approve continua
tion of the checkoff once it is
established, as well as a farmer
vote before the checkoff amount
could be raised.”
Adams said checkoff funds
would be used to create and prom
ote new uses for soybeans; to
promote export expansion; to
promote soybeans in die U.S.; and
to conduct research to help cut
U.S. soybean production costs.
The ASA President said the
Association would ask that Con
gress prohibit using checkoff
funds to influence legislation or to
lobby on domestic farm policy
issues.
ASA’s Voting Delegates
approved seeking a nationwide
checkoff at one-half percent of the
value of a bushel, or SO cents for
every $lOO in sales.
‘The percentage approach is
new, but fair,” Adams said. “Far
mers told us they like a percentage
because it is fair among regions
which have different prices
because of the basis. They said
they like it because when prices
Pursue Nationwide Soybean Checkoff
drop, the checkoff amount drops.
And, they said they like it because
it would make ASA consider price
as well as the number of bushels
produced.”
The next step involves seeking
Congressional legislation to estab
lish a nationwide soybean promo
tion and research program. If Con
gress approves legislation, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
would write a marketing order
outlining specific operational pro
cedures for a nationwide soybean
checkoff.
“We’re probably two or three
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years away,” Adams said. “And
that worries me. The Malaysians,
Brazilians and other foreign com
petitors won’t wait for us. They’re
out in the world today trying to
steal our markets. We farmers
must fight back. And we must
work to capture the tremendous
market potential in the U.S.,
Soviet Union and China.
“We’re at a crossroads. We
have the opportunity to double the
value of U.S. soybeans. But, if we
don’t act, there’s a real potential to
watch our crop wither to half its
current value.”
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