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Michigan’s corn, soybean and wheat commodity groups returned to the Soaring Eagle Casino for the Annual Great Lakes Crop Summit.
With fresh optimism and goals for the new year, the Michigan Soybean Committee is getting in front of Michigan consumers in some different ways.
“One of the things that we’re really excited about is a possible partnership with the Henry Ford Museum,” says Laurie Isley, a farmer from Palmyra and District Three board member. “Henry Ford was an early advocate for soybeans and their use in plastics and so on. If we can put some displays into the museum to tell visitors a little bit more about soybeans, how they’re raised, marketed and the products they can be made into, we’re excited about that possibility.”
Laurie Isley, a farmer from Palmyra and is the district three board member. The Committee is also working on programing that increases returns to Michigan’s farmers.
“Our underlying goal is to make sure Michigan soybean farmers feel like they’re getting a return for their investment in checkoff,” she says.
Isley also serves on the United Soybean Board. USB released their strategic plan earlier this month, and the checkoff remains focused on research and new market development.
“We also do a lot with developing markets, and we have a couple organizations, United Soybean Export Council and the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health, which works on developed and developing markets,” she says. “Going into countries that maybe are not currently using a lot of U.S. soybeans and beginning to look at areas so we can work with them.”
The full conversation with Laurie can be found on the January 28, 2022 edition of the MAT Podcast in the player below.