USDA won't hold a referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Program (soybean checkoff) because not enough soybean farmers requested one.
USDA asked farmers that wanted a referendum on the program to sign up between May 1 and May 28. USDA is required by law to hold a referendum if 10% of all soybean producers request one. Only 3,206 requests were submitted, short of the 66,388 that would have been needed.
USDA is not required to poll producers about their interest in a referendum for another five years.