-Farm News file photo by Karen Schwaller
Chuck White, center, District 1 director on the Iowa Soybean Association board from Spencer, gives a presentation during a previous Clay County Fair in Spencer.

SPENCER — Chuck White says people today want to be “attached to the land,” and as a director on the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) board, he has been taking that mantra on the road.

White, 65, from Spencer is a District 1 director, serving 12 counties, including Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Clay, O’Brien, Sioux, Emmet, Palo Alto, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Plymouth and Pocahontas. He became a board member in 2014, after having started out (before his placement) with his own farm field trials and sharing that information with the board.

“I was interested in what they were doing and wanted to join because they were a forward-thinking group,” he said. “I wanted to be part of finding better ways to do things on my farm, so I began running trials there.”

Before long, he was asked to join the ISA on a legislative trip to Washington, D.C. White has been part of both the promotional side of soybeans (including the use of checkoff dollars) and the policy-making side.

“Policy is a big thing in agriculture and we’ve got to make sure we’re conversing with all of our legislators, including the ones around the country,” he said.

He spoke with the ranking Republican on the ag committee (Congressman Glenn Thompson from Pennsylvania) at the Farm Progress Show. Thompson will be helping write the new Farm Bill, and White said he is grateful to have had the chance to share some thoughts with him before that bill is designed.

“Policy and politics isn’t the fun side of this, but it influences our business,” said White.

He said during his time on the board, the ISA has been involved in many issues – especially water quality issues, and leading the charge against the Des Moines Water Works lawsuit of 2015. He said they have worked hard to ensure the use of crop protection products, especially glyphosate.

TRADE MISSIONS

White has found himself all over the world as part of the ISA, shaking hands with farmers in Europe, China and Mexico. He said when he met with farmers in Ireland, Denmark, Hungary and Austria — he found they are frustrated with the European Union (EU) government’s ban on traits and bio-technology — including GMO technology.

“The farmers there want to be able to use the same technology we do, but their government won’t allow those things into the country,” he said

Farmers there told the ISA members how lucky American farmers are to be able to use that technology. Because of the EU’s restrictions, White said they have to do more tillage, which he said is not sustainable.

“I’ve seen it — they have to use a harrow to go through soybeans that have started to flower, to take care of the weeds — it damages the plants so they lose yield,” said White.

While in China, traveling from Beijing to Nanjang, he saw farmers with bags over their shoulders, and they were throwing something out that looked like Urea.

“They were hand-fertilizing their fields. I couldn’t believe what we were seeing and I’ll never forget it,” White said. “Every square inch of their wheat fields were hand-planted, and there they were, hand-fertilizing. Technology has advanced, but not there. I only saw one tractor there — one without a cab. Those fields are also hand-harvested.”

He said China buys a lot of whole beans since they have their own crush plants. The oil is used for human consumption and the meal goes into livestock, just as in the U.S.

While in China, ISA members visited a soy aquaculture facility, whereby fish are fed soy-based food. The ISA contributed funding toward that project in 2013.

“Aquaculture is another part of our industry that people don’t understand,” said White. “We could do a lot more with it here in the U.S., but regulations are holding us down.”

He said most seafood coming into the U.S. comes from around the world — mostly from China. He said the ISA is working toward regulations that would allow more soy aquaculture facilities in the U.S.

White attended the Soy Crush Conference in Cancun last December, meeting with soybean buyers from Latin America, South America and Mexico. He spoke with all of them about sustainability and high oleic oil.

“The world is hungry for high oleic oil,” said White. “They are also concerned that the food supplies they need are going to get there. They want to make sure the U.S. is going to be able to grow the food they need, because they depend on it to feed their livestock and people.”

He said he watched at a port in Mexico as ships came to unload corn and DDGs (distiller’s dried grains). He said there was no storage for any of it. The ships came in, and the commodities were hauled away immediately before the next ship came into port.

“It was a ‘just-in-time’ kind of management,” said White. “Those people needed those commodities, and if there would be a break in that system, they’d have been short.”

White said U.S. soybeans are sought out around the world, with Latin America purchasing 100 percent of its soybeans from the U.S. He said the Philippines are nearly at 100 percent. He said they aren’t always cheaper to purchase, but “those who know what they’re getting are willing to purchase U.S. soybeans.”

SUSTAINABILITY

and RESEARCH

White is a staunch believer in sustainability of the soil, since he said it holds all the rest of it together. He was impressed with (especially) one of the research projects funded in part by the ISA.

“They planted soybeans in media where they could see the root growth, so they could see the best kinds of root systems,” said White.

The ISA is financing, along with Iowa State University, a robotic rover to count soybean pods. The goal is for the rover to be able to detect the highest-yielding soybeans so they alone could be harvested and used for seed.

He said the Iowa Soybean Research Center is trying to improve resistance to the soybean cyst nematode, now not responding to current resistance, resulting in yield loss. He said sustainability means doing as little tillage as possible, which is what he practices on his own farm. He utilizes precision planting, yield data, grid sampling and variable rate inputs. He has strip-tilled corn for the last 20 years and plants soybeans into standing rye, which he has done for the last seven years.

“That soil is so beautiful. It has so much structure in it, including earthworms,” White said.

COMING HOME

White said the K-Café at this year’s Clay County Fair in Spencer will utilize high oleic oil in which to fry their foods due to its health benefits for human consumption. Also, the floor in one of the buildings at the Farm Progress Show was made in part with high oleic soy oil, which White said was to illustrate the diversity of high soy oleic oil uses.

White also serves as a liaison to the Iowa Corn Growers Association, not as a voting board member, but to keep them informed on what the ISA board is doing.

He said the best news for the 40,000 U.S. soybean growers is that the United States Soybean Export Council is working every day to find export opportunities, going into India and other developing countries these days. The ISA and American Soybean Association are working to find new uses for their commodities as well.

“Our slogan is, ‘Driven to Deliver,’ and we are working hard every day to make sure that happens so there is more opportunity for profitability on our farms,” said White. “The people on staff at the ISA are the very best. Our leadership there is tremendous.”

White raises soybeans and corn with his brother and son. He has served as a past president of the Hy-Noon Kiwanis Club in Spencer, is involved in church service organizations and is a member of the Clay County Fair Board.