The United States spends less on groceries per household than any other country in the world at about 6.9 percent in 2008, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. In comparison, consumers in the United Kingdom spend 8.6 percent, Canadians, 9.2 percent and consumers in Pakistan 45.7 percent of their income on food.

When it comes to your farm, you do all that you can to have a successful crop at the end of the year. You choose the best seed, care for the land, manage your costs and sell when the price is right. But do you want to do more to ensure success? The U.S. agriculture industry offers vast opportunities to develop farmers into leaders to help face challenges, build markets and guide change that impacts your profit. Ag leadership development programs come in many different shapes and sizes, and it’s likely one or more exists just for you.

The soybean checkoff demonstrates as much versatility in its partnerships as soybeans do in their variety of end uses. The U.S. farmer-funded soybean research and promotion programs stretch checkoff dollars with a wide variety of industry, government and academic partners to get the most bang for each farmer’s checkoff buck. Here’s just a sampling.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics show that when the U.S. Congress created the soybean checkoff in 1991, farmers grew 1.98 billion bushels of soybeans. The average price stood at $5.58/bu., with the total crop valued at $11.1 billion. U.S. soybean farmers thought they could do better. As a result, they helped Congress establish a new U.S. soybean promotion and research program.