U.S. Soy: Collaboration is More Important than Ever

Dec 15, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for agriculture to further its collaboration.

Representatives from the U.S. soy industry recently participated in a U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action (USFRA) Farm + Food + Facts podcast. The episode, “The Importance of Collaboration During COVID-19 with United Soybean Board,” discussed how the soy checkoff works on behalf of U.S. soybean farmers to advance agriculture sustainability through research, education and promotion programs. This research, in turn, ensures that global buyers of U.S. Soy receive a high-quality, sustainable product.

The podcast featured United Soybean Board (USB) CEO Polly Ruhland and director Lynn Rohrscheib, an Illinois farmer.

U.S. growers have continued to farm throughout the pandemic, Rohrscheib emphasized, talking about how she has continued her collaboration with other farmers to talk about how she and other growers were working to provide food, fiber, and fuel in a sustainable manner to consumers.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.