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Release: Missouri Sending Two New Directors to National Soybean Board

Media Contact
Name: Christine Tew
Title: Director of Communications
Phone: (573) 635-3819
Email address: ctew@mosoy.org

(Jefferson City, Mo.) – This week, Missouri saw two new farmer leaders appointed to lead national soybean checkoff efforts on the United Soybean Board (USB). Neal Bredehoeft, of Alma, and Meagan Kaiser, of Bowling Green, were appointed to three-year terms on the board of directors by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

“It is a privilege and an incredible responsibility to represent soybean farmers and producers’ investments in the checkoff program,” said Meagan Kaiser, new USB director from Bowling Green. “I look forward to building upon efforts to ensure farmers have the technology and infrastructure necessary to not only produce a crop and put it in the hands of consumers, but to also cement U.S. farmers’ competitiveness in the global marketplace for soybeans and soy products.”

Bredehoeft and Kaiser will begin their service on the board this winter. They are two of the 15 new directors Vilsack appointed to the board this week. Vilsack also renewed the appointments of 24 current board members to the 73-member United Soybean Board. The new and renewing directors will be officially seated during the December 9 meeting of the United Soybean Board in St. Louis.

Bredehoeft and Kaiser were nominated by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, the state organization overseeing soybean farmers’ checkoff dollars. They join Todd Gibson of Norborne, appointed in 2010, and George (Lewis) Rone of Portageville, who was appointed in 2014.

Long-time soybean farmer leader Richard Fordyce of Bethany will retire from the United Soybean Board this year. He has served on the USB board of directors since 2006. Fordyce is also Missouri’s current director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

“Prioritizing research and developing markets for our soybeans has positioned the Midwest and U.S. to succeed,” said Neal Bredehoeft, new USB director from Alma. “Continuing to invest in programs that benefit the bottom line for growers, from breeding and genetics efforts to applied research into soil health and herbicide resistance, and then ensuring the results of that work are available to our soybean farmers, is key to the long-term strength of our industry.”

In addition to their forthcoming service on the United Soybean Board, Bredehoeft and Kaiser are key figures in agriculture and in their respective communities. Both are active in agricultural organizations and advocacy at the state and national levels.

Bredehoeft farms with his brothers and nephew in Lafayette and Saline Counties, and serves on the Santa-Fe AgriLeaders board and the University of Missouri Review Commission. He previously served on the Lafayette County Farm Bureau board and the American Soybean Association board of directors, including as president of the American Soybean Association. He also dedicated 15 years of service to the Santa Fe School District School Board.

Kaiser farms with her husband Marc and his family near Carrollton, Missouri and is the chief operating officer for Perry Agricultural Labs in Bowling Green. She is a member of the local Farm Bureau Board, president of the Rotary Club of Bowling Green and an active member of the Pike County Young Farmers and Ranchers organization. Kaiser is also the former executive director of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association and a graduate of Missouri’s Agricultural Leadership of Tomorrow (ALOT) program.

The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council is a statewide, farmer-led organization working to improve opportunities for Missouri soybean farmers though a combination of research, outreach, education and market development efforts through the soybean checkoff. To learn more, visit the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council online mosoy.org.