What is the Iowa Soybean Association?
The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) develops policies and programs that help farmers expand profit opportunities while promoting environmentally sensitive production using the soybean checkoff and other resources. The Association is governed by an elected board of 21 volunteer farmers and serves about 6,000 members throughout the state.
ISA was organized in 1964 by a group of Iowa farmers who came together with a common goal – to increase the profitability of soybean production in the state. At that time, the U.S. grew 701 million bushels of soybeans at a price of $2.62 per bushel. In 2004, the U.S. grew 3,141 million bushels of soybeans at a price of $5.65 per bushel. Iowa is always a top soybean-producing state, and in 2004 it grew 497 million bushels of the total U.S. crop.
Who runs ISA?
ISA is governed by a board of volunteer farmer-directors elected by the state membership. Two directors are elected from each crop reporting district, with the exception of District 8, which has one director. Members also vote for four at-large directors. The 21 directors meet throughout the year to develop policies and programs. Click here to see the current Iowa Soybean Association Board of Directors.
Iowa also has six farmers who serve as national directors on the American Soybean Association’s board of directors, four who serve on the United Soybean Board and one farmer representative who serves on the National Biodiesel Board. Click here for a list of the Iowa farmers who serve on the national boards.
Who belongs to ISA?
Those who are interested in increasing the profitability of soybeans and who want to assure their livelihood in the production of soybeans belong to ISA. The Association is a farmer-controlled and farmer-run organization, in which only producers have a direct vote in determining policy and issue positions.
What does ISA do for soybean growers?
The Iowa Soybean Association initiates grassroots governmental affairs activities at all levels, promotes state soybean policy positions in Des Moines and Washington, D.C., conducts member services programs, and contracts with outside organizations in areas of consumer and industry information, producer communications, and research.
Here are a few examples of what ISA has done for Iowa soybean growers:
Direct Payments for Soybean Growers: ISA and the America Soybean Association succeeded in making soybeans a full program crop under the 2002 farm bill. For growers, that means a 44-cent per bushel direct payment.
Soy Biodiesel and Bio-Based Products: ISA believes soy biodiesel and biobased products are key to ensuring the long-term success and vitality of the soybean industry. ISA makes certain there are effective programs at the state and national levels to expand the production and use of soy biodiesel.
Domestic Livestock Industry: The U.S. livestock industry consumes more than 1.4 billion bushels of U.S. soybeans each year, about 50 percent of total U.S. soybean production. ISA was a founding member of the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers (CSIF), a statewide animal agriculture organization that helps farmers grow their livestock farms and understand new rules and regulations. Through CSIF, ISA works with other agriculture groups to grow livestock production in Iowa and to support livestock producers against animal agriculture opponents.
ISA Environmental Programs: ISA is a credible provider of environmental information and programs that empower farmers to improve agronomic and environmental performance. ISA is delivering innovative projects, such as its CEMSA Program (Certified Environmental Management Systems for Agriculture), the On-Farm Network and the Boone River, South Fork, Buttrick Creek and Pike Run watershed areas. Successful implementation of these programs puts ISA in a leadership role in efforts to provide stable, economically viable environmental regulations for all row-crop producers.
ISA On-Farm Network: The growing On-Farm Network includes more than 300 Iowa farmers who conduct on-farm studies to evaluate nitrogen management and other corn and soybean production practices and inputs on their own farms. Cooperators use GPS and yield monitors to evaluate side-by-side strips in fields where the only variable is the idea, practice or input they want to test. ISA helps coordinate these efforts by providing protocols for the tests, evaluating yield monitor data, providing growers with field maps of the results and holding meetings where growers can compare their findings. ISA can use the results to assist all producers in qualifying for government programs and regulations.
How is soybean policy created?
Grassroots policy development is the key to ISA’s effectiveness in representing its soybean farmer-members. The association’s policy is developed by and for the membership through the ISA resolution and delegate process. All governmental and legislative actions taken by ISA are based on this process.
Each member can participate in the policy development process by completing a policy survey, which is sent to every member each year, and by having a chance to serve as a county delegate at district caucus meetings and at the state annual meeting. The results of the membership policy survey are tabulated and used to prepare ISA policy resolutions. Final policy resolutions are considered and adopted by county delegates at the ISA annual business meeting each year.
I already contribute to the soybean checkoff program, so why should I belong to ISA?
The soybean checkoff program is the mechanism by which producers contribute to the promotion, market development, production and utilization research for soybeans. One-half of the funds each producer contributes are sent to the United Soybean Board to be used at the national level. The remaining portion stays here in Iowa to support state promotion and research programs.
Although many of the programs and research projects are coordinated by ISA, no checkoff dollars can be used to fund legislative activities. The bottom line: Your membership fees enable ISA to provide a voice on behalf of soybean producers at the Iowa Capitol and in Washington, D.C., because checkoff dollars cannot be used for lobbying and legislative activities.
Why did the Iowa Soybean Association merge with the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board?
In the summer of 2005, the Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board (ISPB) merged to create one unified board of directors to make all investment and strategic decisions. The new organization, called the Iowa Soybean Association, began operating on July 1, 2005.
The unified board creates a streamlined and integrated structure that enables the directors to establish and attain clearly defined goals and objectives, create more transparency in operations, and increase efficiency. The unified board also allows ISA to better address new challenges in both checkoff and non-checkoff activities. Before the boards merged, one set of farmers made all decisions that dealt with checkoff money and projects, while another set of farmers dealt with non-checkoff money and projects. The new board is better equipped to respond quickly to the complex issues facing soybean growers today.
The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) develops policies and programs that help farmers expand profit opportunities while promoting environmentally sensitive production using the soybean checkoff and other resources. The Association is governed by an elected board of 21 volunteer farmers and serves about 6,000 members throughout the state.
ISA was organized in 1964 by a group of Iowa farmers who came together with a common goal – to increase the profitability of soybean production in the state. At that time, the U.S. grew 701 million bushels of soybeans at a price of $2.62 per bushel. In 2004, the U.S. grew 3,141 million bushels of soybeans at a price of $5.65 per bushel. Iowa is always a top soybean-producing state, and in 2004 it grew 497 million bushels of the total U.S. crop.
Who runs ISA?
ISA is governed by a board of volunteer farmer-directors elected by the state membership. Two directors are elected from each crop reporting district, with the exception of District 8, which has one director. Members also vote for four at-large directors. The 21 directors meet throughout the year to develop policies and programs. Click here to see the current Iowa Soybean Association Board of Directors.
Iowa also has six farmers who serve as national directors on the American Soybean Association’s board of directors, four who serve on the United Soybean Board and one farmer representative who serves on the National Biodiesel Board. Click here for a list of the Iowa farmers who serve on the national boards.
Who belongs to ISA?
Those who are interested in increasing the profitability of soybeans and who want to assure their livelihood in the production of soybeans belong to ISA. The Association is a farmer-controlled and farmer-run organization, in which only producers have a direct vote in determining policy and issue positions.
What does ISA do for soybean growers?
The Iowa Soybean Association initiates grassroots governmental affairs activities at all levels, promotes state soybean policy positions in Des Moines and Washington, D.C., conducts member services programs, and contracts with outside organizations in areas of consumer and industry information, producer communications, and research.
Here are a few examples of what ISA has done for Iowa soybean growers:
Direct Payments for Soybean Growers: ISA and the America Soybean Association succeeded in making soybeans a full program crop under the 2002 farm bill. For growers, that means a 44-cent per bushel direct payment.
Soy Biodiesel and Bio-Based Products: ISA believes soy biodiesel and biobased products are key to ensuring the long-term success and vitality of the soybean industry. ISA makes certain there are effective programs at the state and national levels to expand the production and use of soy biodiesel.
Domestic Livestock Industry: The U.S. livestock industry consumes more than 1.4 billion bushels of U.S. soybeans each year, about 50 percent of total U.S. soybean production. ISA was a founding member of the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers (CSIF), a statewide animal agriculture organization that helps farmers grow their livestock farms and understand new rules and regulations. Through CSIF, ISA works with other agriculture groups to grow livestock production in Iowa and to support livestock producers against animal agriculture opponents.
ISA Environmental Programs: ISA is a credible provider of environmental information and programs that empower farmers to improve agronomic and environmental performance. ISA is delivering innovative projects, such as its CEMSA Program (Certified Environmental Management Systems for Agriculture), the On-Farm Network and the Boone River, South Fork, Buttrick Creek and Pike Run watershed areas. Successful implementation of these programs puts ISA in a leadership role in efforts to provide stable, economically viable environmental regulations for all row-crop producers.
ISA On-Farm Network: The growing On-Farm Network includes more than 300 Iowa farmers who conduct on-farm studies to evaluate nitrogen management and other corn and soybean production practices and inputs on their own farms. Cooperators use GPS and yield monitors to evaluate side-by-side strips in fields where the only variable is the idea, practice or input they want to test. ISA helps coordinate these efforts by providing protocols for the tests, evaluating yield monitor data, providing growers with field maps of the results and holding meetings where growers can compare their findings. ISA can use the results to assist all producers in qualifying for government programs and regulations.
How is soybean policy created?
Grassroots policy development is the key to ISA’s effectiveness in representing its soybean farmer-members. The association’s policy is developed by and for the membership through the ISA resolution and delegate process. All governmental and legislative actions taken by ISA are based on this process.
Each member can participate in the policy development process by completing a policy survey, which is sent to every member each year, and by having a chance to serve as a county delegate at district caucus meetings and at the state annual meeting. The results of the membership policy survey are tabulated and used to prepare ISA policy resolutions. Final policy resolutions are considered and adopted by county delegates at the ISA annual business meeting each year.
I already contribute to the soybean checkoff program, so why should I belong to ISA?
The soybean checkoff program is the mechanism by which producers contribute to the promotion, market development, production and utilization research for soybeans. One-half of the funds each producer contributes are sent to the United Soybean Board to be used at the national level. The remaining portion stays here in Iowa to support state promotion and research programs.
Although many of the programs and research projects are coordinated by ISA, no checkoff dollars can be used to fund legislative activities. The bottom line: Your membership fees enable ISA to provide a voice on behalf of soybean producers at the Iowa Capitol and in Washington, D.C., because checkoff dollars cannot be used for lobbying and legislative activities.
Why did the Iowa Soybean Association merge with the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board?
In the summer of 2005, the Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board (ISPB) merged to create one unified board of directors to make all investment and strategic decisions. The new organization, called the Iowa Soybean Association, began operating on July 1, 2005.
The unified board creates a streamlined and integrated structure that enables the directors to establish and attain clearly defined goals and objectives, create more transparency in operations, and increase efficiency. The unified board also allows ISA to better address new challenges in both checkoff and non-checkoff activities. Before the boards merged, one set of farmers made all decisions that dealt with checkoff money and projects, while another set of farmers dealt with non-checkoff money and projects. The new board is better equipped to respond quickly to the complex issues facing soybean growers today.