Marlee Moore
(334) 613-4219

Alabama farmer Wendy Yeager of Orrville was recently appointed to the United Soybean Board (USB), an advisory committee that helps maximize profit opportunities for U.S. soy producers.

Yeager fills Alabama’s second seat on the USB, newly allotted due to increased acreage the past several years. Pickens County farmer Annie Dee also serves on the board. 

“It is truly an honor to represent the great state of Alabama in such an important role for our industry,” Yeager said. “I look forward to working with others across the nation to make positive strides for this vital commodity that affects everyone’s life in some shape, form or fashion.”

The USB works to maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean products. A mandatory assessment of 0.5-1% of the net market price of soybeans funds USB’s work. All farmers marketing soybeans, except organic producers, pay the assessment.

The latest evaluation of the program’s value, calculated from 1991, estimates a $5.20 return on investment for every program dollar spent. 

The 78-member board, appointed to three-year terms by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, represents 29 states and oversees soybean research, promotion and education. Yeager can serve up to three terms.

Yeager and her husband, Jamie, grow soybeans on Bell Place Farm in Dallas County, in addition to cotton, wheat, peanuts and sorghum. They have two daughters, Casey and Lillian, and attend Orrville Baptist Church. Yeager is a 2018 graduate of the Alabama Farmers Federation’s premier leadership program and was a finalist in the Outstanding Young Farm Family contest in 2013.

Federation Soybean Division Director Carla Hornady praised Yeager’s appointment.

“Wendy is a great proponent of agriculture and will represent Alabama well on the national stage,” Hornady said. “The United Soybean Board plays a critical part in ensuring the success of soybean production in the U.S. Alabama farmers have tangibly benefited from USB’s work and will continue to do so thanks to guidance from dedicated farmers like Wendy.”

Since 1966, Congress has authorized industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provides oversight to 21 boards, including the USB.

Learn more at UnitedSoybean.org.