So Far, So Good: WI Soy Farmers Continue Planting Progress

May 20, 2024

Take a drive across Wisconsin and the green blur of soybean plants poking out of the ground will fly by the windows.

Wisconsin Soybean Association (WSA) Vice President Doug Rebout wrapped up planting two weeks ago and is now enjoying watching the seeds become plants.

“Everything went really well,” said Rebout, who farms near Janesville. “We had a few rains, which were great to get, but other than that, everything went really smoothly.”

Now, Rebout is patiently waiting to take the next steps in the 2024 growing season.

“We’re just waiting for the rest to pop up,” Rebout said. “Then, we’ll have to go out and do a little spot spraying where we are getting some weeds here and there. Other than that, everything’s looking good.”

WSA President Sara Stelter, who farms near Wautoma, also has all her irrigated soybeans in the ground.

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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.