While smoke drifted through the grounds and scores were tallied, Charles Atkinson, a farmer leader from Kansas, was busy doing double duty, judging the competition while talking up the power of U.S. Soy with pitmasters and fellow judges. At first glance, soy might seem far removed from barbecue-drizzled chicken or tender pork ribs; yet 97% of domestic U.S. soybean meal is used in animal feed, making soy the backbone of American barbecue long before the lump charcoal was lit.

“Every time you put a chicken or a slab of ribs on your smoker, you’re supporting 500,000-plus soybean producers, because they are a large consumer of our feed product,” Atkinson says. “The next morning, several cookers recognized me at the hotel. Every one of them came up and said, ‘Hey, thank you for being part of this. We know you guys are working hard to feed the world, and we appreciate you feeding us.’”

For Atkinson, showing up in Fargo was personal. “It’s important as a USB director to meet with people, the cookers, the judges, everyone involved and let them see how hard we’re working in agriculture to put food on everybody’s table,” he says.

This year’s Fargo event is one of five KCBS competitions nationwide that will feature the U.S. Soy Combine Award. The award distributed $2,625 in total prize money, with $1,000 going to the top finisher. Combined with custom trophies, the award helps bridge the gap between farmers, meat producers, and cook teams, showcasing how sustainable agriculture supports high-quality food from farm to flame.

U.S. Soy Combine Award Events:

• May 1 - 2, Fargo, N.D.: ND BBQ Championship
• May 22 - 24, Lebanon, Tenn.: KCBS World Invitational
• June 27 - 28, Washington, D.C.: Giant National Capital BBQ Battle
• October 9 - 10, Lynchburg, Tenn.: Jack Daniel’s World Invitational Barbeque Championship
• TBD, Kansas City, Mo.: American Royal World Series of BBQ

The North Dakota event also highlights the growing importance of state partnerships in bringing the U.S. Soy story to local audiences. When Qualified State Soybean Boards partner with national organizations like KCBS, it signals that state soybean councils are serious about getting their message beyond their borders.

“Anytime you can put partnerships together, it shows we’re more than just local,” Atkinson says. “It lets people know we’re serious about getting the word out nationwide.” For Atkinson, those partnerships also open doors with customers, consumers and producers who might not otherwise connect with agriculture. “It lets them see what we’re doing and that we are being very productive and very diligent with Soy Checkoff dollars.”

The KCBS partnership gives U.S. Soy a chance to show farmers’ reach extends far beyond the field. The North Dakota Soybean Council set up a tent that brought that story to life, displaying Goodyear tires, Skechers shoes, and DeWalt oil, all products made with soy. And for anyone with a sweet tooth, the tent served chocolate chip nut cookies made with soy, a reminder that soy is as much at home in the kitchen as it is in the field.

“We’re more than just growing beans,” Atkinson says. “There’s a lot of things we do with that soybean, and there’s a reason they call it the miracle bean.”

The trophies went to the best pitmasters in the region. But the real winner in Fargo was an unexpected realization: every rack of ribs, every chicken, every pork shoulder started with a soybean farmer.