(L to R) Colombia Ambassador Carolina Barco Isakson,
ECAT President Calman Cohen, ASA First Vice President Alan
Kemper and S. Korea Ambassador Han Duk-soo met on July 14,
in Washington, DC to discuss the importance of free trade.
(Photo courtesy of ECAT)
American Soybean Association
(ASA) First Vice President AlanKempermet with Carolina
BarcoIsakson, Ambassador from Colombia, and HanDuk-soo, Ambassador from the Republic of Korea,
on the need to ratify Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
between their countries and the U.S.
"I expressed ASA’s appreciation for their business and
thanked the Ambassadors for being valued customers for
U.S. soybeans and soy products," Kemper said. "I also
stressed ASA’s support for passage of the FTAs, and
welcomed their continued support for U.S. agricultural
products."
Hear more from Kemper on his meeting
with the Ambassadors on ASA's
Soy Radio Newsline.
On July
13, the American Soybean Association (ASA) held its
annual Soybean Legislative Forum at the Washington Court
Hotel in Washington, D.C. Monsanto sponsored the
Legislative Forum. ASA President Rob Joslin welcomed about
200 participants that included ASA Board members and
staff, state affiliate Presidents, Board members and
staff,
Senator Mike Johanns
(R-NE) spoke at ASA’s Legislative
Forum about the pending free trade agreements, biodiesel
tax incentive, and climate change legislation, and gave
advice ahead of the farmer-leaders’ Hill visits. (ASA
photo
by Bob Callanan)
representatives of the 2010 Young Leaders sponsored by
Pioneer, growers who were sponsored by specific National
Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) companies, and
members of the media.
Speakers at the 2010
Legislative Forum included: Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN);
Ambassador William Garvelink; U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign
Agricultural Services Jim Miller; Senior Manager of
Industry Affairs at Solae, Kent Holt; Sen. Mike Johanns
(R-NE); USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan; and
Charlie Arnot, Director, Center for Food Integrity,
Monsanto.
Kemper Represents ASA at Price Risk
Program in Mexico
(L to R) DavidFoster, Director / General Manager,
Pinnacle Feeds, LTD., St. Michael, Barbados; Alan
Kemper, ASA First Vice President; LascellesChin,
Chairman / CEO, LASCO Distributors, LTD., Kingston,
Jamaica; RobertThomas, ASA-IM Nutrition
Consultant, Kingston, Jamaica; and BillBrant,
ASA-IM Director Latin America and Caribbean, Guadalajara,
Mexico.
American Soybean Association (ASA) First Vice President
AlanKemper participated in an American Soybean
Association International Marketing (ASA-IM) Price Risk
Management program in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this week.
There were more than 45 participants representing over 13
countries. Kemper spoke on the importance of U.S. soybean
exports and how ASA values its international buying
partners. He also talked about how he produces and markets
soybeans grown on his farm in Lafayette, Indiana, and how
ASA promotes acceptance of biotech-enhanced crops, and
influences farm and trade policy, in Washington, DC and
around the world. See additional photos on
Facebook.
ASA Board Member Promotes Biotechnology
in Brussels
ASA Board member Scott
Fritz met with European Commission staff to discuss the
EU’s slow biotech approval process and zero-tolerance
policy. (ASA
photo by Benno van der Laan)
American
Soybean Association (ASA) Board member Scott Fritz
traveled to Brussels to meet with a number of European
producer and biotechnology associations and government
officials to talk about long-term solutions to the
European Union (EU) biotech debates covering the
asynchronous approvals and zero-tolerance issues.
"The EU is the largest
soybean meal market in the world," Fritz said. "With the
oncoming biotech events that we anticipate seeing approved
in the U.S. and farmers starting to plant, the EU needs to
speed up its approvals process and allow these events in,
and on this trip we continued to deliver that message."
Hear more from Fritz
about his trip and ASA priorities for biotechnology
acceptance in the EU on ASA’s
Soy Radio Newsline.
American Soybean Association
(ASA) President Rob Joslin joined fellow U.S. soybean
leaders in traveling to Panama and Costa Rica to promote
U.S. soybean farmer priorities in transportation and
trade. In Costa Rica, the group met with the
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture to
discuss ways in which soybean farmers can help develop and
support the livestock industries in the Americas.
In Panama, the group met
with representatives of the Panama industrial community,
including Panama Canal Authority Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) Alberto Aleman Zubieta, to
discuss the ASA priorities of the
pending U.S.-Panama
Free Trade Agreement and
transportation. They also
met with the American Chamber of Commerce-Panama, Grupo
Calesa, Panamanian grain importers at Grupo Melo, and the
Vice Minister of Commerce and Trade.
(Left to right) ASA
President Rob Joslin, Panama Canal Authority CEO Alberto
Aleman Zubieta, USB Chairman Phil Bradshaw. (ASA photo
by Jerry Weller)
Keep Treated Seed out of
Commodity Shipments
Treated seeds have gained the increased attention of many
import control officials
and are a sure way of increasing costs and reducing the
competitiveness of grains and oilseeds in the export
market.
The
American Soybean Association (ASA) reminds growers to take
special care to prevent treated seeds from being included
in the supply of U.S. grains and oilseeds. Treated seeds
in commodity shipments are a multi-commodity problem that
warrants the attention of the entire supply chain.
As
spring planting season moves forward, it is important to
draw attention to the fact that pesticide treated seeds in
commodity grain and oil seed shipments
must be prevented.
Growers and shippers need to comply with U.S. law and prevent
treated seeds from entering the commodity supply.Maintaining a stellar reputation for appropriately
managing all pesticides is one key element of providing
for customer satisfaction in exports.
Applications
for the 2011 American Soybean Association (ASA)/DuPont
Young Leader program will be accepted starting June 1,
2010. An application brochure will be mailed to all ASA
members and ASA will work with its state affiliates to
recruit interested candidates. Those interested may also
apply online. The deadline to apply is Aug. 31, 2010.
This leadership development
program is designed to inspire soybean producers to take
on future leadership roles at the state and national
association levels, and to train them to become dynamic
representatives of agriculture. Nearly 800 producers
and their spouses have graduated from the program since
1984.
