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Developing a Strategic Plan for North Dakota Soybean

The Challenge

The North Dakota Soybean Council and the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association (NDS) recognized the importance of developing robust strategic plans to guide their resources and programs over the next three years. With a vision to “Grow North Dakota’s soybean crop value to $3.2 billion by 2020”, they were eager to address key priorities such as market development, research and development, animal agriculture, and culture. To meet their goal, they sought Agralytica’s experience as a strategic planning facilitator for agricultural commodity groups.

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The Approach

Agralytica’s approach involved:

  1. Refreshing the organizations’ Mission/Vision statements.
  2. Gathering stakeholder feedback through a survey.
  3. Refining and revising initial concepts based on survey results.
  4. Narrowing stakeholder focus in a workshop to define success and determine priorities.
  5. Developing a detailed Action Plan with performance measures, timelines, and responsibilities.
Developing a Strategic Plan for North Dakota Soybean

Agralytica’s strategic planning work has helped the North Dakota Soybean Council and the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association (NDS) grow the value of the soybean crop in their state and stay ahead of constantly-shifting market conditions.

The Outcomes

Stakeholders established clear measurable goals, defined priorities, discussed objectives, and created a foundation to guide future decisions on market influence, target groups, and tactics.

In a follow-up meeting, NDS further solidified their strategic direction, detailing success definitions, identifying influence groups, summarizing behavior changes needed, and establishing key strategy statements. These efforts resulted in the development of a strategic plan for the North Dakota Soybean Council, with a separate plan provided for the Association’s consideration.

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Looking at the Future

Since NDS retained Agralytica initially, the market in North Dakota has continued to shift. As a result, the organization again has an urgent need for an updated strategic plan that aligns with the current and projected changes in the state’s soybean industry. Key developments include plans for further expansion, the establishment of two new crush plants, and anticipated growth in the livestock industry.

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