A recent reorganization of responsibilities has landed the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB) a new executive director: Adam Kask. In this role, Adam oversees the spending of Wisconsin soybean checkoff dollars, and ensures that they’re channeled to investments that will pay dividends to growers.

WSMB versus WSA

The soybean associations here in Wisconsin are divided into two very distinct organizations: the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB) and the Wisconsin Soybean Association (WSA). WSA is a grower driven organization that works on behalf of all Wisconsin soybean farmers in Madison, WI and in Washington, D.C. Members of the association pay dues to help support soybean growers and ensure farm friendly policy is set at the local, state and national levels.

On the other hand, WSMB operates on the checkoff dollars that are invested by soybean producers in Wisconsin. These dollars are used for research, education and promotion under strict guidelines for how checkoff dollars can and cannot be spent. The mission of WSMB is to put farmers in a positive light while increasing soybean profitability.

A New Alliance with Northern Soy Marketing

Recently, Wisconsin joined several other states in an alliance known as Northern Soy Marketing (NSM). The main focus of NSM is to highlight the benefits of northern-grown soybeans, such as higher quality protein and more essential amino acids. This alliance is a great step forward for WSMB and its mission to support soybean farmers.

Education, Research and Soybean Application Opportunities

One of the main focuses of WSMB is education. Pat Mullooly, WSMB president, and Adam Kask recently returned from a trip to Dalton, Georgia where they saw an educational demonstration of a new firefighting product: a foam made out of soybean meal. The goal of this new product is to fully replace the current firefighting foam, known as PFAS foam, which is made out of chemicals that can cause a variety of health concerns. WSMB’s national counterpart, the United Soybean Board, has been working for several years to develop a bio-based alternative to PFAS foam. 

WSMB is always looking for new opportunities to use soybeans, and checkoff dollars greatly help support the research and development of these new soybean applications. For 2024 alone, there is $700,000 invested in research funding at the University of Wisconsin, going towards projects such as integrated soybean production systems, mobile device apps for farmers and weed management initiatives. These projects wouldn’t be possible without the checkoff dollars from Wisconsin soybean growers. 

To learn more about the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board and what it does to support Wisconsin growers, visit our website at wisoybean.org/wsmb.