Soybean farmers from across the state left their combines and fields to join each other in Durham at the beginning of the week for the NC Soybean Producers Association Board of Directors Annual Fall Meeting. While some board members were not able to attend so they could get a few extra hours in before the rain set in on Tuesday, we still had a great and engaging crowd out with us for the 2-day event.
The main focus of the meeting was centered around strategic planning to give both the board and staff a visual when looking towards 2025. Over the two days, the group broke down into small groups and further analyzed common themes that popped up from a survey that was sent out in September looking to dig into the board’s priorities. The Strategic Planning Committee will meet once more this December to review a draft strategic plan before submitting it to the full board to review in January 2020. Themes that emerged from the survey and planning sessions were those that we are familiar with facing today and have even had a focus on in the past including yield, policy, image, demand and internal organization.
To end the long but productive day of planning and looking forward, the board spent their evening unwinding at Urban Axes in Durham where a few growers showed that they were skilled marksmen. Board President, Jeff Tyson, took home the championship trophy of the evening. The next morning the group was joined by one of the 19-20 Corporate Partners, Lee Hall of Bayer, to give a presentation on updates from the company and how the two organizations can work together to be advocates for NC agriculture. The board ended the meeting with regular business on research, marketing & communications, advocacy & resources development and updates from the United Soybean Board and the American Soybean Association.
As always, a huge thank you to our Corporate Partners for their continued support of the NC soybean industry!
