To be honest, every time I see a sign or read an article that says, “US Farmers Are Feeding the World,” a little retrograde peristalsis kicks in. Look, I get it, its a feel good marketing slogan. I say “Coolbeans” all the time (much to the annoyance of my Science For Success colleagues), so I know a feel-good brand when I see one.

Your probably asking yourself, Coolbean where in the deuce are you going with this? Has the cheese finally fallen off your Packer cracker? Maybe… but stick with me because I promise I have a point.

Over the past few weeks, my colleagues, myself and the broader U.S. soybean industry have been dealing with widespread quality issues across major growing regions. (For details, see our SFS article, “Understanding Current Soybean Seed Quality Problems”). While localized pockets pop up every year, #Harvest2026 has been one for the record books. Adding to the confusion is the variation on how soybeans are being graded, how discounts are applied, and why grades vary from elevator to elevator. I get daily calls, texts, and emails about this, and my response is best summed up by comedian Nate Bargatze from this hilarious SNL skit: “Nobody knows.”

As I’ve been working through these questions, I started asking myself: What are the underlying issues here, and frankly how can we do better? Now, this could, and frankly should, be a white paper led by USSEC et al. (I don’t know maybe it already is). But since I have the focus and patience of a toddler to wait around for that, here are a few thoughts I have been mulling over!

If the US really want to “Feed the World,” we need to do better in these areas.

1. Deliver what our customers actually want. The US soybean industry needs to supply a product our buyers ask for specifically, US #1 Yellow Soybeans that reliably meet protein and oil specs.
2. Stop changing the rules just because we can’t make the grade. We shouldn’t rewrite grading policy and procedures to eliminate a problem (e.g. eliminating SBOC as a FGIS grain grading factor; see point #1 above). Side note: I am hearing rumblings that the “industry” might do away with the “mixed soybeans” category altogether. That is just plain dumb.
3. Stop relying on federal safety nets to clean up industry-created problems. We can’t rely on crop insurance and the federal government to continue to patch over systemic failures. To be clear I am not throwing farmers under the Quadtrac here. The checks may be written to them, but they’re being used to offset industry created problems.
4. Stop offering traits and inputs that alienate our end users. Simply put, we need to stop releasing traits and inputs tied to those traits that put us at odds with our customers and neighbors.

None of these points above are new. I’ve been told by industry time after time after time (repeat 1,000 times), farmers hold all the power to force systematic change through their purchasing decisions. Frankly I am not sure I buy that. But if it’s true, then it’s time for farmers to truly meet their customer needs by using their input purchasing power to push our industry to do better.