Producer and Industry Information Exchange (PIIE) program

Sixteen American Soybean Association (ASA) and United Soybean Board (USB) farmer leaders and staff participated in the Producer and Industry Information Exchange (PIIE) program, hosted this year by Illinois Soybean Association (ISA). USB and the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) sponsored the program. PIIE tour participants got a firsthand look at the Illinois soybean industry while engaging in discussions with ISA partners about production research, conservation, infrastructure and unique soybean markets in the state.?

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David Wessel, ISA farmer leader from Chandlerville, Illinois, and his son, Phil, shared their experiences farming in a sensitive watershed. Phil (right) demonstrates the use of a drone to ariel seed a mix of cereal rye and radish cover crop.?

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The group toured the Peoria, Illinois, lock and dam on the Illinois River and learned about infrastructure improvement updates to the lock system on the river managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, which are critical to delivering Illinois soybeans to markets around the world.?

Illinois soybeans are processed into tofu in small batches at Phoneix Bean in Chicago, Illinois. Owner Jenny Yang creates tofu varieties and tofu salads with unique flavors and textures. Tour attendee, Jim Kukowski, a soybean farmer from Strathcona, MN, inspects the raw soybeans that take the star role in this consumer product.?

The Chicago Park District reduces their fleet vehicle emissions and saves fuel, as well as thousands of dollars annually on the cost of fuel, by using clean-burning biodiesel made from soybeans. ISA partners Bailey Arnold, American Lung Association (third from right), and Mike Dimitroff, Chicago Park District (third from left), tell the farmers on the tour about significant reductions in carbon emissions resulting from the use of soy-based biodiesel.?