ABERDEEN, S.D. – During its June board meeting, Northern Soy Marketing (NSM) elected officers for FY24. Minnesota grower Patrick O’Leary was reelected as chair, South Dakota farmer Mike McCranie will return as vice chair and Wisconsin grower Nancy Kavazanjian will serve as secretary/treasurer.
“I look forward to another year of leading this organization,” O’Leary said. “Our work is far from over. We’ll continue to encourage foreign markets to consider northern-grown U.S. soy for their monogastric livestock, aquaculture and poultry.”
Comprising the soybean checkoffs of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota, NSM continually strives to shift the soybean value paradigm from crude protein to nutritional value through the adoption of critical amino acid value (CAAV). CAAV is the sum of five critical amino acids – lysine, threonine, tryptophan, cysteine and methionine – as a percent of crude protein, which can identify soybean meals of higher value in swine and broiler starter rations more consistently than crude protein.
Vice Chair McCranie is no stranger to the hard work that goes hand in hand with sitting on a board. Thanks to the support of his fellow board members, he is ready for the year ahead.
“Knowing that my peers have the confidence in me to help lead this organization is humbling,” said McCranie, who also serves as treasurer for the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. “Of course, it also helps that I firmly believe in what we’re doing.”
Along with officer elections, the board finalized its FY24 budget and received project updates, including a rebrand to better align with NSM’s goals and initiatives, during the meeting.
“We had a productive meeting and NSM’s future looks very promising,” O’Leary said. “We have a lot of exciting projects in the works that are going to help our message gain even more traction.”
