The American Soybean Association (ASA) is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year and has a lot to celebrate. Last year, the organization received more than $12.8 million in export funding from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service for the promotion of U.S. soybeans and soybean products. ASA President Rob Joslin noted in the organization’s press conference during Commodity Classic that this was the largest of that type of grant ever given to one organization. ASA’s committee, Rural Initiative Soy and Human Health, also received a historic grant of $26 million for the promotion and infrastructure of soy in Afghanistan.
However, grant dollars were not the only success for 2009. Joslin highlighted some of the policy work his organization is undergoing in the beltway that affects soybean farmers in terms of both biofuels development and the farm bill.
“ASA led efforts to correct a flawed proposal by the EPA. This proposal would have disqualified soy as a feedstock from the mandated Renewable Fuels Standard,” said Joslin. He continued by saying that ASA believes this was not the intent of Congress and with their efforts, among others, the new rule by the EPA allows for the continuation of soy as a feedstock for biodiesel.
Biodiesel has also been hit with the lack of extension for the Biodiesel Tax Incentive. Joslin said that to date, 23,000 workers across the country are idled and the longer the biodiesel plants don’t produce biodiesel, the harder it will be for the plants to begin running again once the incentive is passed; yet, ASA is confident the incentive will pass.
But the lack of the biodiesel tax credit also affects farmers. Joslin said that it costs farmers 25 cents per bushel by not having biodiesel production. Of the 3.3 billion bushels harvest in ’09, this will costs farmers $825 million in income.
Joslin, on behalf of ASA, expressed continued hopefulness for 2010 for soybean farmers across the country and reiterated that they will continue to work on their behalf both here in the states and abroad.
You can listen to the highlights of the ASA press conference below.
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