The U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly rejected four women nominated by state soybean boards for seats on the United Soybean Board, then filled those positions with men, shrinking female representation on the 77-member checkoff board to a relative handful. The agency offered no public explanation, leaving farmer leaders unsettled, since peer-chosen directors are typically approved with little drama. The shake-up affects who helps steer research, promotion and export priorities tied to U.S. soy.
USDA Overturned Peer Picks
In all, five nominees were rejected, four of them women, and none of the 40 newly named or reappointed directors were female, according to Reuters. Several nominees said they only discovered they had been passed over after the newly configured board had already met. Among the affected slots were positions on the board’s executive committee, which oversees key budget and communications work.
Who Had Been Chosen
Under the usual routine, state soybean checkoff boards put names forward, and farmer leaders on the United Soybean Board assemble an executive committee from those picks. The board’s December announcement showed Virginia grower Susan Watkins tapped as treasurer. Yet the department’s Feb. 2 appointment notice listed a different lineup of federal appointees, as detailed by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Those side by side slates, state nominees versus federal approvals, are what prompted several state boards to ask USDA to revisit the decisions.
Farmers Say Politics And Gender May Be At Play
Farmers who were rejected said the pattern did not look accidental. "We should be judged on our merit," Susan Watkins told Reuters. Wisconsin farmer Sara Stelter told the news outlet that the move "reflected how the current administration views women."
Reuters also cited meeting notes in which an Agricultural Marketing Service official said the rejections were final, although a congressional recommendation could help if a member of Congress backed a particular candidate. That mix of surprise, closed doors and hints of political workarounds has nudged state boards to push USDA for more transparency.
How The Nomination Process Works
Under the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, state soybean checkoff boards nominate candidates, then the Agriculture Secretary appoints members to the United Soybean Board. The Agricultural Marketing Service oversees that process and posts guidance for nominees on its website. The AMS materials walk through the nomination forms, how representation is allocated across 29 states and which AMS official oversees the soy program. Given that structure, farmer leaders say they expect clear public reasoning when federal officials decline to accept state selected nominees.
Why This Matters To Farmers
The United Soybean Board manages farmer funded checkoff dollars and helps set priorities for research, promotion and export efforts that affect growers’ bottom lines. For producers who pay mandatory assessments, a sudden change in who sits at the table can mean a very different set of voices influencing spending and outreach. That is why state leaders say they are pressing for explanations and, in some cases, asking members of Congress to get involved so peer chosen nominees might get another look.
