South Dakota Soybean Portrait Jordan and Kevin Scott

SOUTH DAKOTA SOYBEAN PORTRAIT:

JORDAN AND KEVIN SCOTT

Most days, the biggest disagreement between Jordan Scott and his dad, Kevin, centers on baseball. Kevin, a fan of the Minnesota Twins, is bewildered by son Jordan’s rooting for the Cubs. One step into the younger Scott’s man cave at his Valley Springs, South Dakota home place makes obvious his loyalty to Chicago’s North Siders. What counts though is what the two have in common.

When asked what it is like farming with his son, Kevin’s response is immediate. “Oh, nothing better,” says Kevin, about working side by side with his younger farming partner. “It gives you a reason to continue to improve your operation knowing that somebody else will be there to take it over later. And that’s a good thing.”

“Dad and I get along most days,” says Jordan Scott with a chuckle. “We’re in the same field a lot of the time or right across the road from each other, and that’s pretty neat.”

Another notable commonality is that Jordan is president of the South Dakota Soybean Association (SDSA), while Kevin presides over the American Soybean Association (ASA).

“It’s certainly a humbling experience,” says Kevin, referring to his service as ASA president. “During this year of COVID, it’s been a little bit more difficult to enjoy it like you would have in the past, but I’ve stayed home a lot more, and that’s not a bad thing.”

In a typical year, says Kevin, the ASA president would be away from the farm for 175 days. “I was prepared for that, because I’ve got Jordan here at the farm; he can handle that when I’m gone.”

It appears Jordan will get his turn at bat. The respite from ASA-related travel is ending. “We’re just now starting our board meetings again, getting back together,” says Kevin. “March was our first [in-person] board meeting and we’re going to go again in July.”

What both are enjoying is the current strength in soybean prices. “The market’s great,” says Kevin, breaking into a grin. “The checkoff is doing its job.” He points out the good that has come from the U.S. Soybean Export Council’s work to improve exports and from checkoff-funded research. “That means there are a lot of new uses going on with soy oil, so the demand is strong there.”

“I see it every day with the checkoff focusing on marketing and the association focusing on policy, both making a difference,” says Jordan. “The funds are being used in a good way and actually bringing value back to the farm.”

For Kevin, the decision on this life path could have easily resulted in a career off the farm. “When I was going to college, farming was the last thing I wanted to do,” he says. While at South Dakota State University, however, Kevin developed a crush on grade schoolmate and family friend Jannell Gage, whose father needed a hired hand on his farm. “Bingo,” he says, about fate intervening, “Two weeks after we graduated, we were married, and I started farming; that was the only thing I wanted to do after that.”

The family has done extensive legacy planning with an eye toward an eventual transition and beyond. “Every decision we make now is based on the next generation,” says Jordan. “Everything I’m doing today, I have my son in mind, and I can see now that my dad did the same for me.” Jordan’s great-greatgrandfather seemed to be thinking along those lines when the farm was established in 1886.

“I’ve been very fortunate and have been able to continue on with the legacy that they started many years ago,” says Kevin. “We’re kind of hoping that the next generation will be here too, and the following generation after that.”