US and Spain team up to promote US soy

To successfully initiate this partnership, the United Soybean Board
and soybean checkoff are participating in a Joint Industry
Development Agreement, which will lay the groundwork for future cooperation
between U.S. soybean farmers and the Spanish livestock industry.

The
agreement has been signed by USB representatives, the U.S. Soybean Export
Council, the American Soybean Association – International Marketing, the Spanish
Feed Compounders Confederation, la Universidad Politecnica de Madrid and the
Fundación Española para el Desarrollo de la Nutrición Animal. These
organizations have entered into this agreement with the common goal of
facilitating the growth of U.S. soybean exports, while assisting processors and
users in Spain.

Benefit soy farmers
“This
partnership will benefit U.S. soybean farmers as well as Spanish agriculture,”
says Terry Ecker, USB International Marketing chair and soybean farmer from
Elmo, Mo. “By openly sharing our knowledge of agriculture with these
organizations, we open a better position for U.S. soy in Spain.”

Indian soy
This is not the first time that soybean checkoff
farmer-leaders have worked to educate foreign markets on incorporating soy into
feed and food markets. A joint effort of the soybean checkoff and the American Soybean Association

is under way in India to increase the utilization
of domestically grown soy in hopes of decreasing Indian soy exports and
beginning U.S. imports. India’s population is expected to exceed China’s by
2040, making it an extremely promising new market for U.S. soybean farmers.