Wisconsin farmer Tanner Johnson provided a voice for the innovative and sustainable U.S. soy industry during the 12th annual Maghreb Roundtable for the Poultry and Feed Industry June 3-4 in the Tunisian capitol of Tunis.  

The roundtable was a key regional event that brought together leading nutritionists, feed mill managers, farmers, quality control managers and industry decision makers across the Maghreb region of North Africa, including the countries of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya and others. Johnson, who presented on his experience of sustainable cropping practices such as no-till and cover crops, attended the event on behalf of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) alongside West Virginia farmer and United Soybean Board (USB) director Nick Kercheval.  

“We really drove home the value of how we farm, our sustainable farming practices, how we store our grain, and just being there to answer questions,” said Johnson, who serves on the American Soybean Association (ASA) and Wisconsin Soybean Association (WSA) board of directors. “In addition to us farmers, USSEC brought in speakers from all facets of the grain handling industry, from the minute it comes off the boat to when it goes to their crush and extruding facilities. It was amazing to see the lineup of speakers on hand at this roundtable,” he added.  

‘Planting seeds’ 

 Tunisia and the Maghreb region of North Africa primarily use soy for feed for the poultry and aquaculture industry, along with some for dairy and human consumption. With a population of 12 million, Tunisia relies heavily on soy imports to meet their demand. Animal feed consumes about 2.38 MMT of soy in the country with aquaculture using another 46,000 MT. 

 To no surprise to Johnson, there were inquiries about Trump administration’s tariff policies; previous tariffs have had an impact on where Tunisia purchases its soy. 

“I was very candid with them that we support the administration, but we have been very critical about their decision to implement tariffs,” Johnson said, “because it impacts our budgets as farmers and the long-term relationships we have with our customers across the world.”  

Tunisia imports about 80% of their soybeans from Brazil and 20% from the United States, but those numbers were flipped around prior to market turbulence, Johnson said.   

“They prefer to use our soybeans because the product we are shipping them is superior,” Johnson said, “but when it comes down to dollars and cents the Brazilian soy pencils out better for them.”  

While in Tunisia, Johnson also toured Carthage Grain, Tunisia’s lone soybean crush facility, and the Green Label Oil (GLO) extrusion plant. Handling around 80% of all the soy consumed in Tunisia, Carthage Grain is a major part of their soy industry.  

“Carthage Grain were gracious hosts and did a really good job explaining the economics to what goes into the decision making of whether to import American, Canadian or Brazilian or Argentinian-origin soybeans,” Johnson said. “And the extrusion plant was spectacular because it was hands down the largest extrusion facility I’ve ever seen. It was like the Madison Square Garden of extrusion plants.”   

Johnson put an emphasis on making connections and was rewarded with robust conversations and new relationships. 

“It was very easy to fall into the ‘high-level’ conversations, and even despite language barriers, we had very productive conversations trying to learn about each other’s lifestyles and farming practices,” he said.. “They were very engaged, and you could tell they were hungry for resources and information.”  

While Tunisia may not be the world’s largest importer of soybeans, Johnson says every bushel of beans and every market matters towards providing a more profitable path for U.S. farmers. 

“I think USSEC does a fantastic job representing U.S. soybean farmers and going the extra mile to help our customers worldwide become better at what they’re trying to do,” Johnson said. “Inversely, ASA and the United Soybean Board are investing their money wisely to plant the seeds in countries like Tunisia because it’ll lead to some serious returns in the future.” 

“I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.”