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CHS Foundation funds $1 million investment in 4-H to prepare future agriculture leaders. Washington, D.C., Sept. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - CHS Foundation and National 4-H Council today announce that CHS is investing $1 million to fund programs that focus on developing future generations of agriculture leaders. The two-year commitment builds on a strong 21-year partnership between the two organizations to help young people thrive and prepare for work and life. Funding will support Beyond Ready; a 4-H initiative launched in 2024 to help teens build the confidence, competencies and real-world skills they need to succeed in school, work and life. The investment will also support: * Beyond Ready innovation grants: Grants that support local 4-H programs led by Cooperative Extension. Young people will explore science, technology, and innovation shaping agriculture while building skills they can use throughout their lives. * Youth recognition programs: Programs that elevate young people who are creating positive change in their communities, like 4-H Lead to Change. * Ignite by 4-H: A national youth summit where more than 1,200 teens gain skills through real-world experiences. * Storytelling: Efforts that elevate youth voices and showcase achievements throughout the year, demonstrating how 4-H builds real-world skills, leadership experience, and confidence. "The future of agriculture depends on the next generation of leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers. Our continued partnership with 4-H is one of the ways CHS and the CHS Foundation are investing in opportunities that connect young people to agriculture, expand their networks, and prepare them for success in work and life," said Megan Wolle, President, CHS Foundation. "This investment focuses on bringing hands-on experiences closer to home for students and reflects our commitment to ensuring a strong future for agriculture." After Ignite by 4-H, youth participants applied their skills through 4-H Lead to Change, a program that helps young people identify local challenges, develop solutions, and compete for up to $10,000 to bring their plans to life. "Washington 4-H teens are a great example of what young people can accomplish when they have support to bring their ideas to life," said Heather Elliott, chief development and marketing officer for National 4-H Council. "Through Lead to Change, they received funding for Leaf It Up, a project that helps college students experiencing food insecurity access fresh food through microgreen kits. Their work took them to the national stage at Ignite and shows how an idea can become a solution that makes a difference in local communities." Attachments

The big crush: Trump, Xi and domestic demand. | Published on: Sep 25, 2026 By K. Elliott Nowels MANHATTAN, Ill. (AgPR) - When President Donald Trump sits down with China's President Xi Jinping, soybean farmers here in northern Illinois and across the country would like them to talk about soybeans. "That means working toward a durable trading relationship," Ohio farmer Scott Metzger, current president of the American Soybean Association (ASA) said in a recent ASA news release. ASA would like Trump to encourage Xi to keep his commitment to buy 25 million metric tons of U.S soybeans annually, 2026 through 2028. But feeding Chinese hogs and chickens aren't the only thing bringing out the best from America's soybean farmers, especially given that's just a fraction of past U.S. soybean exports to that country. No, what's causing them to chase more pods and bigger beans is all the new crush plants springing up from Ohio all the way to the Dakotas. Big players are responding to demand for aviation fuel, biofuels and renewable diesel with big infrastructure that will need a constant supply. The latest crush facility announcement comes from CHS, Inc. - the nation's largest farmer-owned cooperative - in Evansville, Wisc. The $700-million investment is the first large-scale soybean crush plant in the state with planned capacity to process 80 million bushels of soybeans each year. "For farmers, this is about more than a new processing plant; it is a new market for their soybeans," said Devin Mogler, National Oilseed Processors Association president and CEO. "Our industry has expanded at a remarkable pace, and we are on a path toward processing two out of every three rows of soybeans grown in the U.S." Domestic crush levels have exceeded the year-ago levels for 17 months in a row, showcasing the continued industry investment and growth. Given this new, more local demand, a crop often denigrated by many as just a rotational crop between seasons of King Corn is now gaining more scrutiny, care and love. "You can push soybeans throughout the season based off what they're dealing with," said Robert Phillips, agronomist with Integrated Seed Solutions of Flanagan, Ill. "You can find ways to get them to set more nodes and add another cluster of pods through foliar feeding and different bio stimulants." Veteran agronomist Larry Fiene, founder and CEO of Planet Earth Agronomy, an agronomic consulting and product development company based in Mt. Horeb, Wisc., says chasing high yields means planting more beans and that brings the need to manage stress the plants will encounter all season long. "The main stress that's created in the soybean field is by the farmer, and it's by design," he smiles. "If we wanted stress-free beans, we'd plant 60,000 seeds per acre. But we plant them at 100,000 to 120,000 (seeds per acre) to get the maximum amount of production, so that brings stress from competing with other bean plants in the field. As farmers we're growing the maximum amount of yield based on the carrying capacity of our soil. We know where we need to be, and we run it right to the edge." Fiene has considerable experience evaluating high-yield soybean systems. He's spent decades evaluating how biologicals, nutrients, and biostimulants can be applied to prepare soybeans to endure hardship to grow taller, branch out more, set more pods, and support bigger beans. He and his team at Planet Earth Agronomy developed and rigorously tested a new formulation, dubbed Big Beanâ?¢, that combines Boron (2.35%), Nitrogen (2%), Potash (1%), seaweed extract (Ascophyllum nodosum) and other components into one product designed to: â?¢ Enhance soil health, nutrient cycling, and plant vigor through natural biological processes â?¢ Enhance plant metabolic efficiency, improve stress tolerance, and optimize nutrient uptake without being a fertilizer or pesticide â?¢ Improve soil structure, nutrient availability, microbial activity, and plant metabolism and â?¢ Boost plant enzyme function, metabolism, and yield expression. For Mike Robbins, a fifth-generation farmer from just south of Chicago, the benefits have been clear. "We set a record yield with our soybeans last year with BIG BEAN as a part of that. I'm excited to see what it does this year," Robbins says. "We saw about a four bushel per acre increase across 2,000 acres over our previous record, which is pretty incredible." Robbins says he and his father saw a lot of return on a pretty small investment from a product that was easy to integrate into their system. "We put it in with our post- herbicide pass and we put it in with our fungicide pass. It's as simple as measuring it and dumping it in the tank." WATCH VIDEO here . Standing in a soybean field in northern Illinois recently, Robert Phillips says he's been counting pods and enjoying the journey toward higher and higher yields with a domestic market that's ready to use them. "Each node on a soybean plant has the potential to put 12 pods on," he says. "I've never seen it personally, yet, but I'm working on it. I'm going to get there. I had nine pods last year, and that's unheard of. It's been a lifetime goal to get there, but there's still a lot of that mountain to climb." About the Author K. Elliott Nowels is a veteran ag journalist, publisher and film producer who has covered ag trends and new technology for more than 30 years. He is co-founder of PrecisionAg.com and former vice president of business development for Meister Media Worldwide. He currently operates The Elliott Group, an agricultural business development and strategic communications firm. Contact for interviews or follow-up questions: K. Elliott Nowels, Founder and CEO, The Elliott Group +1-440-564-7853 â?¢ [email protected]

CHS to build new US$700M soyabean crushing facility in Wisconsin. Published 18th September, 2026 US agribusiness co-operative CHS has announced plans to build a new soyabean crushing facility in Evansville, Wisconsin, USA. The new 80M bushels/year facility would expand market access to meet growing demand for soyabean oil and meal, the company said on 14 September. Expected to produce around 453,592 tonnes (pounds)/year of soyabean oil and 2M tonnes/year of soyabean meal, CHS said the facility would supply growing domestic markets for food, animal feed and biofuel feedstocks. Construction was scheduled to begin in the weeks after CHS's announcement, with completion targeted in the latter half of 2028. "Investments like this help CHS create additional value for our owners and customers by expanding market access, strengthening our processing network and creating new demand opportunities for US-grown soyabeans," said John Griffith, executive vice president of agriculture business and CHS Hedging. "Strong demand across food, feed and renewable fuel markets, coupled with policies that encourage domestic processing, manufacturing and energy production, reinforce the need for additional soyabean processing capacity in the USA." The facility would increase soyabean processing capacity in southern Wisconsin, a region with strong soyabean production and significant demand for soyabean meal from livestock producers, the company added. The new facility would complement the company's existing oilseed processing operations in Minnesota. In Hallock, CHS processes 525,000 tonnes/year of canola, and in Fairmont and Mankato, Minnesota, it processes approximately 119M bushels/year of soyabeans. Once the Evansville facility was operational, the company's soyabean processing capacity would increase by more than two-thirds, CHS said. As the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the USA, CHS has customers in 65 countries. In 2025, its agronomy, grains, foods and energy businesses recorded revenues of US$35.5bn.