The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced the results of a soybean request for referendum. The results show too few soybean producers want a continuance referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Order. The request for referendum was held from May 1 through May 28, 2004, at USDA's Farm Service Agency county offices.
The Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act requires the agriculture secretary provide soybean producers an opportunity to request a referendum on the order every five years. If the results of the request for referendum showed sufficient interest among soybean producers to vote on continuing the order, a referendum would have been held within a year.
If at least 10 percent (not in excess of one-fifth of which can be producers in any one state) of the 663,880 soybean producers nationwide participated in the request for referendum, a referendum would have been held. Only 3,206 valid requests for a referendum were cast; far short of the 66,388 required to trigger a referendum.