Farm Director KC Sheperd visited the United Soybean Board (USB), where she connected with Patrick Giberson, the USB Director, to explore exciting developments and future prospects within the soybean industry.
USB is always innovating, and Gilberson agreed, “Everything is new and exciting in the soybean world right now; we’ve got everything going. We have over 1000 products out there right now. Sitting on different work groups, you can’t even track what other work groups are doing.”
He highlighted a recent point of discussion, stating, “One of the big things that we talked about this last year is the firefighting foam TF 1122. It was International Firefighting Day yesterday.”
Looking ahead, Giberson shared some intriguing innovations. “Terrazzo floors we’re working with. So if we get sustainable aviation fuel going, the plane you’re flying will be on soybeans. The floor you walked on in the airport, and all that sparkly stuff, will be soybeans. If I had my Skechers on, going through the airport, they are also made with soybeans.”
Giberson explained the board’s commitment to farmers. “What we’re trying to do with the Communication Education Committee is get out there to the farmers and help them understand what the investment they’re making is. We’re in difficult times right now, financially on farms, everybody’s struggling. So we’re getting the most bang for your buck that we possibly can. It’s farmer-funded. We are there as stewards of your money, trying to invest it the best we can. And right now, things look a little bleak, but it’s farming. It comes and goes.”
Sheperd remarked that farmers are eternal optimists. Giberson agreed, “People ask, ‘What do you do?’ I say I’m a farmer. ‘Well, what’s that entail?’ Well, I’m a professional gambler. I’m a meteorologist. I’m a chemist. I’m this, I’m that, and that’s what it comes down to. But a professional gambler, most.”
The conversation then shifted to insecticide strategies and EPA regulations. Giberson offered his perspective as a grower. “I think where we’re at as far as the weed control end of it, we’ve got a pretty good handle on it. We’ve been working with E3 beans for a while. I know we had some dicamba beans going back a few years when they first came out. In New Jersey, it’s kind of tough there too, because we have a lot of veggie guys down south, and dicamba and veggies don’t usually mix very well, and your neighbor might not be very happy with you. So the E3s have been working out pretty well with the enlist technology. As far as the EPA stuff, I’m not really a policy guy from being on USB, but I don’t think there’s an issue with it. We’ll get it worked out one way or the other, as long as we’ve got a couple of tools in our toolbox.”
Finally, Sheperd asked about Giberson’s immediate concerns as a grower. Giberson’s answer was straightforward and timely. “Get them in the ground. It’s springtime. We’ve got most of our corn in. The planter and I have had a love-hate relationship for the past couple of weeks. Last year, I think I started planting on May 8th or May 9th, so we’re right there, and I already got most of the corn in the ground. I have about 15 acres left to go.”
Find more information about the United Soybean Board here.
