The United Soybean Board (USB) picked a leader in the dairy industry, Lucas Lentsch, to guide the organization as its new Chief Executive Officer starting Jan. 1. He replaces Polly Ruhland, who has been at the helm of the checkoff organization since November 2017 and previously announced her plans to step down at the end of the year.
“Lucas Lentsch is the right leader, at the right time, to continue the meaningful work of the soy checkoff and fulfill our vision of delivering sustainable soy solutions to every life, every day,” Missouri farmer Meagan Kaiser said in a release.
Kaiser, who is the outgoing chair of the United Soybean Board and CEO Selection Committee Chair, described Lentsch as a “true thought leader and collaborator with a wealth of checkoff program knowledge, deep agricultural roots, and comprehensive experience across the farm-to-food value chain.”
Kaiser said the search committee, assisted by the executive search firm Kincannon & Reed, worked for about six months to identify and narrow the list of candidates. USB’s board of 77 farmer-leaders, representing more than 30 states, ratified the CEO selection at its December board meeting this week.
Lentsch currently serves as an Executive Vice President at Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff. He previously served as CEO at Midwest Dairy, representing a 10-state region.
Growing up on his family’s dairy farm near Veblen, South Dakota, Lentsch later served as his state’s Secretary of Agriculture from 2013 to 2016 and is a proud veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving as a Commanding Officer with the Army National Guard. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from South Dakota State University.
In an exclusive interview with Agri-Pulse, Lentsch said he wanted to thank the dairy industry “where I cut my teeth these last few years, learning leadership roles at Midwest Dairy, and being part of the executive leadership at DMI. But all of that has been about the farmer voice.”
“I don't know that I'm going to ever have all of the answers, but I trust the farmers,” Lentsch emphasized. “When you're one of a half a million producers that generate soybeans that we get the benefit from domestically and internationally, we're all working for you.”
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here.
Asked about how he plans to respond to checkoff critics, Lentsch said “one of the most important things to remember in all of this is that it's not by accident that farmers created this voice in the marketplace. It's been intentional. The reasons for over 30-40 years, may have evolved and maybe refreshed, but they are still warranted.”
He pointed out that farmers are paying into a checkoff that creates open markets, drives innovation, and is a way of giving them their voice in the marketplace.
“When 95% of the world lives outside of the United States, we have to be part of that conversation. Soy is a sustainable solution that will feed the people of India and Africa, as well as China, wherever the growing global population resides. They want a higher quality food production and high quality protein and we're all providing that."
Lentsch said “whether it's from a soybean itself, or through the animal nutrition that’s provided, soy is absolutely front and center. And anybody that questions that work, I would just challenge them to get involved and be a part of the answer. It's really easy to throw rocks; it's something else to show up and provide leadership."
He is the proud father of four grown children and will relocate to the United Soybean Board’s headquarters in Chesterfield, Missouri.
For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com.
