Stepping out of the airport into the tropical heat of Indonesia, driving past rice farms, hundreds of motor bikes and street vendors, Wisconsin farmer Nancy Kavazanjian and her Northern Soy Marketing (NSM) colleagues were ready to make an impact.
Returning to Indonesia just one year after last visiting, NSM was primed to continue its mission of educating potential customers about the benefits of soybeans exported from the Pacific Northwest (PNW), as well as expanding an existing market.
Kavazanjian, NSM treasurer/secretary and Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board director, was joined by Glen Groth, a board member with both NSM and the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, along with University of Minnesota Researcher Seth Naeve and poultry nutrition consultant Robert Swick on the trade mission.
“To see the difference we’re making with our checkoff money around the world, I am so honored that I’m able to see that firsthand,” said Kavazanjian, who farms near Beaver Dam, Wis. “I wish every soybean farmer in the U.S. could see what I see some days.”
Throughout industry meetings, NSM continued delivering its message about the quality and availability of northern-grown soybeans.
Concerns were shared during meetings about the lower levels of crude protein in U.S. soybeans when buyers test it versus when the U.S. tests it. The U.S. and Indonesia use different methods to test the crude protein levels, creating the discrepancy.
NSM recognizes essential amino acids (EAA) as the most accurate way to determine soybean quality and promotes this value with potential customers. NSM invested soybean grower checkoff dollars to develop a system of measuring the quality of northern-grown soybeans using Critical Amino Acid Value (CAAV) levels, which is the sum of the five most critical amino acids – lysine, cysteine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan.
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Photo Credit: gettyimages-gilaxia
Categories: Wisconsin, Crops, Soybeans