The Maryland Soybean Board congratulates Belinda Burrier on her re-election to the United Soybean Board (USB) Executive Committee for 2021. Burrier was first elected to the Executive Committee this past year and was one of the first two individuals from the East Coast to serve in this role.
“I am pleased to continue representing farmers from Maryland and across the nation for a third term on the United Soybean Board,” remarks Burrier. “Being on the forefront of soy innovation is an exciting opportunity. I am always surprised by the amount of work that goes on each week, through research, development, and marketing of both soybeans and their by-products.”
In her role, Burrier will serve as Chair of the Marketplace Action Team within USB. This action team works to address value and infrastructure matters. In this scope, USB prioritizes that the soy value chain is using an accurate definition of the U.S. soy advantage and bringing that value back to farmers; and that potential partners and influences use new information to communicate to appropriate target audiences why improvements to the transportation infrastructure are needed.
The 78 farmer-leaders of USB convened virtually earlier this month to elect new leadership for the upcoming year. During the election, the Board of Directors selected Dan Farney of Illinois to serve as the organization’s Chair and Ralph Lott of New York to serve as Vice Chair. Other members of the Executive Committee include Secretary David Iverson of South Dakota, Treasurer Meagan Kaiser of Missouri, Mark Seib of Indiana, Rochelle Krusemark of Minnesota, Tom Oswald of Iowa, Steve Reinhard of Ohio, Ed Lammers of Nebraska, and Ex-Officio Past Chair Jim Carroll III of Arkansas.
In Maryland, farmers grow about a half a million acres of soybeans, producing more than 20 million bushels of beans each year. With a value of $173 million to the state’s economy, soybeans are one of Maryland’s top crops. The checkoff program is funded by farmers through an assessment of one-half of one percent of the net market value of their soybeans at the first point of sale. One-half of the checkoff funds stay in Maryland for programs; the other half is sent to the United Soybean Board.
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Danielle Farace, Executive Director
Maryland Soybean Board
Office: 443.812.4526
danielle@mdsoy.com