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Soy Checkoff Honors Two for Leadership, Research

The soy checkoff recently honored a man who devoted more than 30 years of leadership to the soy industry and another who has developed new soybean varieties that U.S. soybean farmers are using in their fields today.

The checkoff presented its Outstanding Achievement Award to Jim Palmer at Commodity Classic, a 31-year veteran of the soy industry who has held 11 state and national leadership positions. The checkoff’s Excellence in Production Research Award went to Brian Diers, Ph.D., professor and associate head of the Crop Sciences Department at the University of Illinois.

The checkoff proudly recognizes individuals, organizations or companies whose achievements make positive impacts on the U.S. soybean industry or the soybean checkoff.

Palmer was serving as executive director of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association when the 1990 farm bill established the national soy checkoff. He left his home state to help establish the United Soybean Board in St. Louis, and became USB’s initial acting administrator, financial director and executive director. Palmer returned to Minnesota in 1997 to guide the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council as executive director. The Outstanding Achievement Award is the checkoff’s highest honor.

He says he’s had plenty of help along the way.

“I worked with some very exceptional farmer-leaders, staff and contractors who had a true vision of what the soybean industry could be,” Palmer explains. “They deserve the credit for this award as much as I do.”

Diers has been a plant breeder for more than 20 years, and his prolific work on subjects ranging from aphids to soybean cyst nematode has been published in 76 peer-reviewed journal articles. In addition to leading a large and diverse soybean breeding and genetics program at the University of Illinois, Diers leads a multi-institutional project to identify genes that control soybean yield and compositional traits through nested association mapping, or NAM. He was the innovator who applied NAM principles to soybean breeding, which produced markers for yield and other key traits.

“I’m honored to be chosen for the award,” Diers says. “It’s great to have this recognition back from the industry saying that what I’ve been doing is appreciated.”

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy’s customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

Source: UnitedSoybean


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