The American Soybean Association is "your advocate" in Washington, and is powered by the grassroots support of 22,000 members and 25 state affiliates. 

Senator Pryor, Secretary Vilsack Address ASA Board
Record Crowd At ASA's Congressional Soyfoods Luncheon
Deadline Tomorrow To Sign Up For 2009 SOY Challenge
WISHH Hosts Washington Seminar On Protein Needs In Developing Countries
Ohio Soybean Council Foundation Sponsors Awards At Science Days
Indiana Soybean Alliance Supports Road Testing Of Soy Biodiesel In Alaska
CFTC Creating New Subcommittee On Convergence In Ag Commodity Markets

ASA Issues Call To Action In Support Of Senate Letter On Indirect Land Use
ASA Meets With Senate Transportation Committee To Give Input On Rail Issues
Senate Moves On Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act
EPA Proposes Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule

ASA-IM Partnership Bolsters Tempe Sales In Indonesia
ASA-IM Korea Uses Positive Feedback To Promote U.S. Hi-pro DHSBM
Chinese Poultry Industry Team Visit To U.S. Leads To U.S Exports
Romanian Demand For U.S. Soybeans Grows

This week on the Soy Radio Newsline listen to comments from ASA member Jim Andrew, who chairs a biofuels working group that is part of the EPA's Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee. Andrew explains why ASA is against the inclusion of the indirect land use formula in the new Renewable Fuel Standard. And, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack when he addressed ASA's Board of Directors on March 10, 2009. Also, Vilsack addresses questions from ASA Board members.
These reports may be heard on SoyGrowers.com.

Senator Pryor, Secretary Vilsack Address ASA Board The American Soybean Association (ASA) held its spring Board of Directors meetings this week in Washington, DC., with Executive and Finance committee meetings on Sunday, Public Affairs, Trade Policy & International Affairs, Membership & Corporate Relations and Investment
(L to R) ASA President Johnny Dodson, Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor and ASA Board member Ted Glaub. (ASA Photo by Bob Callanan)	committee meetings on Monday, and a full Board session and policy briefing on Tuesday. Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) was the guest speaker at the ASA Board lunch on Tuesday. ASA Board member Ted Glaub from Jonesboro, Ark., introduced Senator Pryor, who is from Fayetteville, Ark. Pryor spoke about protecting the interests of rural America, ensuring that appropriations for new energy sources are fair to all areas of the country, and about the cooperative environment in which he believes the Senate is currently working. On Tuesday afternoon, U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed
the ASA Board. Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, was introduced by ASA Chairman John Hoffman from Waterloo, Iowa. Vilsack spoke about a variety of challenges USDA is working to address. Listen to the Secretary's comments. Media on hand for the Secretary's comments and interviews with ASA leaders were Beth Gaines-Riffel, Grass & Grain Magazine, Stewart Doan, Agri-Pulse, Mary Berger, Washington Trade Daily, Chris Clayton, DTN, Chuck Abbott, Reuters News Service and Mike Hergert, Red River Farm Network. Today, ASA's World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) program is conducting workshops and breakout sessions. See more photos.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack addresses the ASA Board of Directors on Tuesday afternoon. Seated at the head table are (L to R) ASA CEO Stephen Censky, ASA Chairman John Hoffman and ASA First Vice President Rob Joslin (ASA Photos by Bob Callanan)

WISHH Hosts Washington Seminar On Protein Needs In Developing Countries   The American Soybean Association's (ASA) World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) hosted its annual Workshop in Washington, D.C. today in conjunction with the World Soy Foundation (WSF), a WISHH program. Participants, ranging from ASA members to international food assistance and development experts, examined opportunities to benefit people in developing countries at the conference titled Nutrition and Development: Filling the Protein Gap of Growing Populations through Local, Regional and International Responses. "WISHH is pleased to convene this timely conference," said WISHH Executive Director Jim Hershey. "Global economic problems are undermining the progress that has been made in improving diets and incomes in developing countries. Protein deficiencies can have long-term effects on children that will be more difficult to turn around than the economies of their countries." The Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee and other Qualified State Soybean Boards sponsored the conference on behalf of WISHH Industry supporters of WSF sponsoring the conference included: Cargill - gold-level sponsor; Solae - silver level sponsor; Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge and The Monsanto Fund - bronze level sponsors.

Ohio Soybean Council Foundation Sponsors Awards At Science Days   The Ohio Soybean Council Federation (OSCF) is sponsoring over $3,000 in Ohio Soybean Bioscience Awards at each of the state's 16 District Science Days, as well as the Ohio State Science Day May 9. OSCF established these awards to encourage the study of bioscience and soybeans, and support today's best and brightest science students who will create tomorrow's innovations in the soybean industry. "We are excited about the Ohio Soybean Bioscience Awards," said Kirk Merritt, OSCF's director of outreach and programs. "It's amazing what innovations students can create and we want to support their growth, ingenuity and interest in science. They are the future of soy-based bioproduct research and development." OSCF will be sponsoring three $100 awards in each of their 16 districts. At the state level, OSCF will give a $1,000 award to the first place finalist, $500 award to the second place finalist and $250 for third place. The awards are available to students in grades 7-12 with projects in the area of agriculture biosciences, bioresources, biopolymers, bioproducts and/or biofuels using soybeans. The combination of science and soybeans has produced bioproducts such as environmentally friendly soy-based inks, toners, adhesives and plastics. Home-grown fuels like soy biodiesel improve air quality and reduce dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels. Last year, 282 students from seventh to 12th grade participated in the Ohio State Science Day in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Overall, students earned nearly 100 scholarships and awards values at more than $2.9 million.

Indiana Soybean Alliance Supports Road Testing Of Soy Biodiesel In Alaska   The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) took 250 gallons of cold climate biodiesel to the Arctic Circle March 4-9, to document how it performs in some of the harshest winter conditions. ISA partnered with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), the Alaska Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (AFES) and Purdue University to road test Permaflo™ Biodiesel, which is a unique formulation of biodiesel that is processed using a simple, novel process that significantly reduces the traditional problems of biodiesel performance in cold-weather conditions. The entire trip was documented by a film crew and real-time reports – with photos – were posted on the ISA website during the trip. Permaflo Biodiesel is capable of working at temperatures below -67˚F without gelling. Researchers at UAF and AFES will be joined by ISA farmer-directors and Bernie Tao, agricultural engineering professor and the ISA Professor in Soybean Utilization at Purdue University, to "road test" the Permaflo Biodiesel in two different ways. The fuel will be tested in transportation and stationary power generation. The group will drive two vehicles running on 100 percent Permaflo Biodiesel from Anchorage to Fairbanks, which is a trip of more than 300 miles. One of the Permaflo Biodiesel-powered vehicles will then carry the group an additional 200 miles to the Arctic Circle where they will camp overnight using a generator powered by the Permaflo Biodiesel.

CFTC Creating New Subcommittee On Convergence In Ag Commodity Markets   The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) posted a Federal Register Notice March 9, that it is seeking nominations to the Subcommittee on Convergence in Agricultural Commodity Markets, a new Subcommittee of the CFTC's Agricultural Advisory Committee. The Subcommittee on Convergence will identify the causes of poor cash-futures convergence in select agricultural commodity markets and advise on actions to remedy the situation. "Particularly in our agricultural markets, we have noted continuing problems with lack of convergence and weak basis," said CFTC Acting Chairman Michael Dunn. "The Subcommittee on Convergence will bring together all relevant information on the potential causes of these problems and help investigate possible solutions that will restore the markets' effectiveness as a risk management tool for the agriculture sector." The Subcommittee on Convergence will conduct at least three sessions to examine the causes, potential remedies and suggested actions to remedy the lack of convergence. The Subcommittee will present a report with its findings and recommendations to the Agricultural Advisory Committee, which will consider the report and make recommendations to the CFTC as to what further actions warrant consideration. Nominations are sought for highly qualified representatives from government agencies, industry, exchanges and groups representing interests or organizations involved with or affected by the convergence issues.