Tight Dollars Sharpen Farmers Checkoff Investment Strategies - Matt Wagenson

Every soybean grower knows about low market prices.  If you're a farmer sitting on the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, those challenges turn into difficult decisions about where to invest checkoff dollars for the future.  Pam Jahnke sits down with WI Soybean Marketing Board Vice President, Matt Wagenson.  Wagenson farms near Bear Creek, managing just over 1,000 crop acres plus a beef operation. Now in his 12th year serving as a board member for Wisconsin soybean growers, Wagenson says he's got a more complete picture on how checkoff invested dollars are repaying growers today.  It takes time, and that's one thing he stresses when talking with other growers. "The most exciting things I've seen in the past two years for us, other than research, is what Delong's doing in Milwaukee,"  Wagenson says.  "Getting the Great Lakes going.  Start cranking stuff out of the Great Lakes out of the St. Lawrence Seaway."  Wagenson says Wisconsin soybeans can now get to Africa and the EU faster than almost any state.  That's one of the stories he shares when growers ask about where their investments are going. Wagenson says while the WI Soybean Marketing Board cannot invest in physical structures, they can support generating information that helps companies and businesses make decisions about those investment.  Find out more about how your soybean checkoff dollars are being spent in Wisconsin!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.