Collaboration and Partnership

Like many organizations, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) has adopted and embraced several important value statements. They provide guidance for staff as we pursue ISA’s mission and work to achieve its vision. Included are such worthy values as:

HONESTY: earn trust through our actions

TRANSPARENCY: communicate openly with all stakeholders

ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF FARMERS: standing with and advocating for farmers

FISCAL INTEGRITY: invest farmers’ resources wisely

FACT-BASED AND DATA- DRIVEN: going where the data takes us

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: striving for optimum performance

COMMITMENT TO STEWARDSHIP: promoting sustainable production practices

COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP: impact through shared dialogue and resources

Although all these values are important to ISA, I thought about the last one on this list as I reviewed the stories and topics included in this issue of the Iowa Soybean Review.

ISA has long recognized that given the range and scope of the challenges we face in Iowa agriculture, and more specifically in soybeans, collaborating and partnering with others is critically important if we have any chance of obtaining our mission of “expanding opportunities and delivering results for Iowa’s soybean farmers.”

In the pages of this month’s magazine, you will learn more about ISA’s partnership with the Iowa Ag Water Alliance (IAWA), and it's work with the Practical Farmers of Iowa on the profitability of grazing cover crops. IAWA was formed five years ago as a collaborative effort by ISA, Iowa Corn Growers and Iowa Pork Producers to accelerate the adoption of voluntary practices by farmers in meeting the goals of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

You will also read about the work of the Soy Transportation Coalition, a partnership between the United Soybean Board, American Soybean Association and 13 state soybean organizations, including Iowa. ISA played a critical role in creating this partnership to focus on the critical infrastructure and transportation needs of soybean farmers across the country. Mike Steenhoek serves as the Coalition’s executive director and offices here at ISA.

Additional stories share the value of partnerships as we work to increase demand for biodiesel, develop other international markets and build upon more than 50 years of collaboration with Iowa State University (ISU) on soybean research. This partnership with ISU is highlighted as we share photos of ISA’s support of the new Advanced Teaching and Research Building on campus.

ISA will continue to uphold our commitment to our core values, including collaboration and partnerships. It’s what the farmers we serve expect, and it’s what we hope of ourselves and our many partners.

Kirk Leeds, Chief Executive Officer, Iowa Soybean Association

kleeds@iasoybeans.com, Twitter @kirkleeds