ASA presents ASA Soy Champion Award to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas. From left to right: ASA Chairman Ray Gaesser, ASA Director Bob Henry, Sen. Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and ASA President Wade Cowan.

Fresh off a record-setting Commodity Classic at the end of February, the members of ASA’s Board of Directors joined ASA and state affiliate staff in Washington this week for the association’s annual spring board meeting.

ASA met with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy during Hill visits at the annual spring board meeting. From left to right: ASA Chairman Ray Gaesser, First Vice President Richard Wilkins, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and ASA President Wade Cowan.

This year’s meeting focused on several key issues at the forefront of the soybean industry, and brought in public sector officials from multiple agencies to discuss each issue with the board.

Sarah Bittleman, agricultural counsel to Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, spoke to the board on Monday, highlighting the committee’s progress on legislation that would grant trade promotion authority to the White House. TPA is at the top of ASA’s priority list in the near term, enabling the administration to craft and finalize trade agreements that help to keep soybeans atop the nation’s agricultural trade.

Also on Monday, the board’s Public Affairs Committee hosted briefings from staff at the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food, the U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance, and the National Biodiesel Board on GMO labeling, biotech trait approvals and biodiesel issues, respectively.

On Tuesday, representatives from each of ASA’s 26 state and regional affiliates visited with their offices in the House and Senate, while ASA’s Executive Committee met with Alexis Taylor, deputy undersecretary of farm and foreign agricultural services at USDA, to discuss trade issues. Later Tuesday, ASA President Wade Cowan and Chairman Ray Gaesser joined Director Bob Henry and Kansas Soybean Association Executive Director Kenlon Johannes to present ASA’s Soy Champion Award to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas.

“In a Congress that has so few lawmakers that really understand life on the farm, it’s extremely important that we recognize those allies that we do have,” said Cowan. “We’re honored to present the Soy Champion Award to Chairman Roberts and look forward to working with him long into the future.”

ASAAP members hold annual meeting in Washington.

The meeting drew to a close Wednesday, and was followed by a meeting of the ASA Action Partnership, or ASAAP, which featured a presentation from the agricultural attaches at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. The normalization of trade with Cuba continues to be a key part of the expansion of agricultural trade, and an issue that ASA strongly supports. The members of the ASAAP joined agricultural dignitaries from across the country at USDA for the annual AgDay dinner and celebration of agriculture.

ASA’s board will next meet in July at the annual Legislative Forum in Washington.