USSEC partners with Indiana checkoff program to foster connections along the soy value chain 

By Lyndsey Erb, USSEC Director of Industry Affairs 

Where do Indiana soybeans go? 

While many of them are crushed in Indiana and surrounding states, roughly 30 percent get exported to customers around the world. In fact, soybeans and related soy products account for about half of the state’s agricultural exports, according to the Indiana Department of Agriculture. 

Indiana farmers know in theory their soybeans could go anywhere, but that concept becomes real when they meet the people from around the world who buy and use them. 

At the same time, international soybean buyers, crushers and food manufacturers want to know where their raw materials come from. They know they are buying soybeans from the U.S., but they understand what that entails when they see the U.S. Soy supply chain in action. 

The U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) intentionally connects international soybean customers with farmers and exporters. The combination of trade teams comprised of customers visiting the U.S. and trade missions of U.S. soybean farmers traveling to other countries provides a comprehensive view of U.S. Soy. 

Our goal is to nurture relationships and help each link in the soy value chain learn how to deliver more value to others. Meeting import company decision makers and their customers at home helps farmers understand how production and handling decisions impact the final product. At the same time, showing international buyers and decision makers each link in their upstream supply chain gives them more confidence in U.S. Soy as a supplier. 

Throughout the past year, Indiana farmers and USSEC partnered to build and foster the long-term relationships that make U.S. Soy a valuable agricultural export. 

Meet in Bogotá, Ho Chi Minh City and Beyond 

Indiana soybean farmers participated in several USSEC events around the world, meeting customers and learning about key markets for U.S. Soy. For example, USSEC works with the U.S. Grains Council and U.S. Wheat Associates to host U.S. Agricultural Cooperators Conferences in the Americas and Southeast Asia regions. Representatives from Indiana attended both premier industry supporting efforts by building relationships and developing business opportunities. 

The Americas Cooperators Conference was held in Bogotá, Colombia, in June 2024. Prior to the conference, a visit to Solla, the third-largest feed producer in Colombia, provided the opportunity to engage with their feed mill team to hear about their use of the Sustainable U.S. Soy label and the value of U.S. Soy to their business. Then, during the conference, Phil Ramsey, a farmer from Shelbyville serving as an American Soybean Association director, provided a crop update as part of a panel discussion. 

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, hosted the Southeast Asia U.S. Agricultural Cooperators Conference in September 2024, where industry leaders from 20 countries discussed critical aspects of U.S. agriculture. Indiana Soybean Alliance director Joe Stoller from Bremen was among the farmers sharing production strategies applied on their U.S. Soy farms. 

In addition, the Indiana Soybean Alliance sponsored Soy Connext in San Francisco in August 2024. USSEC convened more than 400 international soy customers from 62 countries, and a delegation of Indiana farmers had valuable conversations with customers about soybean production. 

…Or in Indiana fields 

Indiana soybean farmers and agribusiness also welcomed many international trade team participants to their fields, elevators and offices to demonstrate how the U.S. Soy supply chain works. 

ISA hosted the International Soybean Oil Masters Program with USSEC last May for participants from 11 countries, taking them to the Indy 500 and hosting a reception at the Howell farm near Middletown. Smaller groups of attendees visited a variety of different farms. For example, a group from Cost Rica visited Everett Farms and Seed in Lebanon and Triple S Farms in Windfall, while attendees from Bangladesh and Jamaica headed to Sheller Farms in Noblesville and Cox Farms in Gaston. 

Participants from China, Morocco and Taiwan visited Kelley Ridge Farms near Brookston and Eck Family Farms in Boggstown. Guided tours of Corteva Agriscience headquarters, Beck’s Hybrids and a Bunge grain elevator gave them all a look at the science and innovation behind soybean seeds and a snapshot of U.S. Soy’s logistics network. 

In August 2024, 14 U.S. Soy customers from the Americas visited Indianapolis for a firsthand look at key links in the U.S. Soy supply chain, including soybean genetics at Beck’s Hybrids, IP grain handling and cleaning at the Pence Group and grain logistics and merchandising at Kokomo Grain Facility. Their time at Maple Farms near Greentown highlighted the trip, as they learned about sustainable farming practices. 

Prior to Soy Connext, two trade teams visited Indiana. Eleven soy food manufacturers from South Korea learned about crop conditions, non-GMO food grade soybean varieties and the soybean market outlook. They visited Kelley Ridge Farms near Brookston for discussions about the growing season and their sustainable farming practices. At Pence Group, they heard about non-GMO and organic soybean seed and marketing, and at Corteva, learned about seed management and soybean genetics. 

At the same time, 10 crushers, feed millers and importers from Japan learned about the latest developments and technology releases for new soy products and gathering information on U.S. Soy advantages to use in future purchase decisions. They visited Gary McDaniel’s farm by Boonville and received a behind-the-scenes tour of CGB Enterprises river terminals in Jeffersonville. 

The conversations between Indiana farmers both at home and abroad provide valuable, first-hand answers to customer questions. Even small interactions contribute to building confidence and trust with those buying U.S. Soy around the world. 

USSEC looks forward to ongoing collaboration to continue strengthening customer relationships. As Indiana farmers travel with us to visit customers and welcome them to their farms, they invest in the long-term connections that result in purchases of U.S. Soy.