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Sep 20, 2024
By Jody Shee
ASA directors Dave Walton (IA), Chris Hill (MN) and Rob Shaffer (IL), who also serve on the Clean Fuels Alliance America board, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the rebranding of the trade association at its headquarters in Jefferson City. They are pictured here with Missouri Governor Mike Parson (third from left).
As soy fuels increasingly power the future of the soybean industry, a key group of ASA directors is out in front, guiding legislative efforts and educating policymakers to ensure continuous momentum in the right direction. And that’s just what they do in their spare time. Three directors reflect on their soy advocacy involvement, including the passion and purpose driving their commitment to advancing soy fuels.
Dave Walton advocates for agriculture and soy to everyone, including Uber drivers he meets on his trips. His journey to national advocacy began when he wrote an article to non-farmers on the safety and usefulness of GMOs and herbicides like glyphosate, catching the eye of Iowa Soybean Association’s policy director, who encouraged Walton to get in the game.
“The move to ASA was natural. I’d been thinking of national issues,” he says. “Science and consumer safety issues around GMOs have always been a focus of mine.”
Walton was already using biodiesel on his 1,000-acre farm when he joined ASA’s biodiesel advocacy. “Initially, we were almost begging people to convert to biodiesel,” he says. “The growth I’ve seen is phenomenal.” Now, through legislation, he aims to ensure supply can meet future demand. He notes that 14% of a soybean bushel’s value comes from biodiesel. “If demand grows, soy will be more valuable, adding to the bottom line of every U.S. soy producer.”
Rob Shaffer, co-chair for Commodity Classic 2025, is driven to learn. Having transported approximately 2 million bushels of soybeans annually to the local elevator, he aspired to understand that part of the business and eventually secured a position on the cooperative’s board. His friends there talked up the Illinois Soybean Board, which he joined to learn more. Moving up the ladder, ASA came next. “I was more of a political animal, so it was a natural fit,” he says.
With his 1,000-acre farm long using biodiesel, ASA’s biofuel legislative efforts became his cause. Through that advocacy, he values the contacts and broader perspective beyond agriculture he has gained.
Shaffer points to the passage of the 2019 five-year $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit as one of the greatest accomplishments he has had a hand in. “I went to D.C. 10 times to lobby for this tax credit that had lapsed before,” he says. Shortly after it passed, he was gratified when he received a phone call from his congressman thanking him for his work. Shaffer and his colleagues pride themselves on these relationships built with people critical to the industry’s success.
Chris Hill entered into ASA biodiesel fuel advocacy with some street creds. He was an operator at the soybean crush plant in his hometown when in 2005 it added a biodiesel production facility. For a year he worked for and advocated for biodiesel.
With ASA, he mostly focuses on transportation and biodiesel, sharing a carbon emission reduction message with railroads, aviation and marine transporters. “My message is that it’s better, it’s cleaner and it’s now,” he says.
Hill enjoys explaining how everyone benefits from increased soy fuel production, given that 80% of each bushel processed for fuel becomes economical soybean meal for animal feed. “You feed the chicken the soy meal, fry the chicken in oil, and convert that used oil into fuel to transport food, creating an endless cycle.” He believes crush plants and biodiesel refineries are the economic engine for rural America, offering good jobs and pay.
