Biobased Products Rule Finalized On January 10, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) publicized a final rule to implement a program of preferred procurement of biobased products by federal agencies. This final rule is the result of ASA-supported provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill. The rule requires all federal agencies to preferentially purchase biobased products that have been designated by USDA as eligible under this program. This rule promotes energy independence and the use of environmentally friendly renewable fuels like biodiesel made from soybeans. It will create new demand for U.S. soybeans, and other agricultural commodities, and it will help create jobs and strengthen investment in rural economies.

Biodiesel Tax Incentive Implementation ASA met with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Counsel regarding regulations for the biodiesel tax incentive. Many issues need to be successfully resolved as Treasury and IRS prepare implementation regulations, including the treatment of feedstocks not specifically mentioned in the legislation, home heating oil, B100, kerosene, and how transactions taking place in the fuel marketplace will be treated by IRS. ASA also submitted comments to the IRS regarding provisions of the biodiesel tax incentive. ASA and the National Biodiesel Board will continue to work with Treasury and the IRS to make sure the regulations for the biodiesel tax incentive work well.

ASA Convenes Government & Industry Meeting On Rust Fungicide MRLs ASA and CropLife America, the trade association representing fungicide companies, convened a meeting on February 11, to discuss the status of international tolerances and maximum residue limits (MRLs) for newly approved fungicide treatments to combat Asian soybean rust. MRLs have not yet been established for the fungicides with Section 18 approval, and MRLs are not established in all countries for the fungicides with full Section 3 registrations (azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil and pyraclostrobin), because those products have not generally been used on soybeans. Making sure that MRLs are established could affect U.S. exports of soybeans. ASA will continue to work closely with government agencies and chemical companies to ensure that MRLs are established in time to avoid trade disruptions.

ASA Assembles Industry To Launch Stearic Acid Study ASA hosted a meeting of soy industry representatives on December 15, to collaborate on a study of stearic acid, which initial research indicates is cholesterol-neutral. ASA continues to aggressively promote soy-based solutions to the trans fat issue and protect soybean oil’s place in the edible oil market. Soybean oil contains about 4 percent stearic acid. By comparison, fully hydrogenated soybean oil, like that produced through the process of interesterification and is one of the possible trans-fat solutions available to food companies, contains 20 percent to 40 percent stearic acid. If the Food and Drug Administration was to recognize the cholesterol-neutrality of stearic acid, this could help achieve some food companies’ goals to reduce or eliminate trans fats from their products while not raising heart-unhealthy saturated fats.

ASA Wraps Up Winter Soybean Rust Series ASA continued its educational commitment to soybean growers with its 2005 winter series of Soybean Rust Seminars. A total of five one-day seminars were held in the five states of Iowa, South Dakota, Illinois, Georgia and Missouri. Presentations on soybean rust basics, detection techniques, protecting crops from soybean rust and fundamentals of fungicide application were provided by representatives from USDA and various agribusinesses, along with state rust specialists. In total, 945 producers participated in these five ASA events.

ASA Soybean Rust Reference Guide Published, Internet Information Center Launched In response to a motion passed by ASA Directors at the December Board meeting, staff has developed a comprehensive Soybean Rust Information Center. This new Internet resource is a significantly expanded version of ASA’s highly regarded 20-page Soybean Rust Reference Guide that was distributed to all ASA members and all attendees of ASA’s winter series of Soybean Rust Seminars. Unique to the Internet Information Center are sections covering ASA educational programs, PowerPoint presentations, speaker audio recordings, a Soybean Rust Backgrounder and a Soybean Rust Growers Guide. Various sections address Frequently Asked Questions about soybean rust and how best to combat the disease, and provide access to specific information about soybean rust forecasting and probability, fungicide labels and field trials. More than 300 organized links to additional commercial, federal and state government and university resources are also provided, both within specific sections and cross-referenced by topic.

ASA Launches Members-Only Online Resources To better serve its members, ASA has developed online information resources that are available in a new "members-only" section of its SoyGrowers web site. This new section includes an online edition of the ASA Today newsletter with an archive of previous issues, an electronic version of ASA’s Weekly News, and also hosts the new Soybean Rust Information Center. To gain access, members provide their last name and their eight-digit member identification number, which is now printed on the address panel of each issue of the ASA Today newsletter. Members also have the opportunity to sign up to receive the ASA Weekly News via email, which is already reaching more than 6,000 members.

Austin Welcomes Commodity Classic The 10th annual Commodity Classic Trade Show and Convention in Austin, Texas, attracted more than 3,300 participants, including 1,046 growers and 85 media representatives. The trade show featured 186 exhibitors with 708 booths, a record number for this event. About 850 people attended the ASA Awards Banquet on Friday night.

ASA’s SoyPAC Kicks Off With Founders Event SoyPAC is off to a strong start following its inaugural fundraising event last week in Austin, Texas. More than 125 ASA members recognized the importance of a strong national political action committee advocating on behalf of soybean farmers and made Founders level contributions at the $250 or more level. More than 150 other ASA members invested different amounts. Thanks to the support received, as well as strong leadership on the Board, SoyPAC is off to a good start.