In two years, David Lueck has traveled to Ghana and Cambodia. The Missouri soybean farmer is on a mission to expand the market for America’s soybean growers while helping developing countries eat better.

Lueck is part of the American Soybean Association’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) committee. "We are focusing on the feed side of human health, what goes into the animal that individuals are eating," Lueck explains. "If we can provide them a better feed source for poultry and aquaculture, it creates a better protein source for human consumption as well."

The Alma, Mo., soybean grower talked one-on-one with fellow farmers in Cambodia last year. "We visited with them and explained how to best feed soybean products to improve their aquaculture products," Lueck says. In 2016, he visited Ghana in west Africa, touting the benefits of soybeans for poultry producers. "We are trying to educate farmers in these countries on how to feed our product more efficiently."

Lueck says trips like these are extremely crucial in today’s ag economy. "In this trade climate right now, it is good to help other countries grow their understanding of American soy," he says. "Any time we can help a country’s productivity and use of soy increase, it is good for all U.S. soybean growers."

New partnerships emerge
With the success of the WISHH Program, USDA recently selected ASA to implement Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) under the USDA Food for Progress Program. The program will connect trade and development through production of high-demand fish species for the Cambodian market. 

"CAST is an exciting affirmation of WISHH’s ability to connect trade and development," says WISHH chairman Daryl Cates, an Illinois soybean grower. "WISHH is a trailblazer for trade through CAST, which will improve agricultural productivity and expand trade of agricultural products through commercial aquaculture sector growth in Cambodia."

The Southeast Asian country’s GDP has increased by more than 7% per year since 2011, growing the demand for animal and aquaculture-sourced protein. CAST’s anticipated local economic impact exceeds $300 million over the life of the project, and, Cambodia’s aquaculture industry demand for soybean protein is projected to reach 100,000 metric tons per year by 2030. An importer of U.S. beans is building a new fish feed plant in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The U.S. Soybean Export council is also a partner in CAST.

Lessons from afar
WISHH works with international companies and organizations that purchase U.S. soy, according to Cates. These buyers invest their own dollars to research and promote soy-based foods and feeds made with U.S. soy in emerging markets. Over the last five years, WISHH leveraged soybean farmer checkoff investments by a ratio of more than 6-1.

As a farmer, Lueck enjoys being involved in WISHH and helping farmers and consumers in developing countries. Still, he says, trips like these ultimately "make you thankful for what you have at home."

He encourages other farmers to help spread the message of soy to the world. "When you travel you see what is going on outside of your farm," he says. "Being involved in a trade mission helps you understand where others are coming from."