 The North Dakota Soybean Council was established by the 49th North Dakota Legislative Assembly in 1985. One year later, the council started funding the Soybean Breeding Program by hiring Dr. Ted Helms. Thanks to Dr. Helms, the NDSU Soybean Breeding Program is one of the most successful programs in the United States, at a shining example of partnership between the university and soybean farmers who serve on the council. Nearly 40 years of investing soybean check-off funds into the research and development of soybean varieties suitable for North Dakota growing regions has paid back dividends to the producers. Dr. Helms' varieties have enabled North Dakota soybean farmers to thrive in spite of the short growing season, withstand extreme climate settings from drought to flood, and be able to harvest a crop even in the tough years. Due to a growing global demand, North Dakota soybean acres continue to expand across the state while offering profitable options for farmers in their planting rotations. We had farmers that were futuristic that could see the importance of the breeding program and the NDSU research in soybean. Although the acres were rather limited in those days, they could visualize the growth of soybeans in the state and they could see the need for this program and they were willing to make the effort to get the check-off program started and then provide support and leadership all these years. We've expanded to all parts of North Dakota, all the way from Northwestern North Dakota to even an area in Southwestern North Dakota that I never dreamt we'd have soybeans growing in and now they've become an important crop in those areas. And Ted Helms' breeding program is responsible for that. For Dr. Helms, it was the reward of helping farmers succeed that drove his work. Dr. Helms released his first soybean variety, Council, in 1995, followed shortly by Trail, both of which addressed yield concerns. The most recent varieties released under Dr. Helms' direction have allowed soybean production in western North Dakota to expand. The dedication of Dr. Ted Helms, his team over the years, and the vision of the Council Board members to continue investing in the research resulted in the development of 40 different varieties of soybeans. One of my most important goals was always to serve the farmers and to give them more value, help them with their family farm operations. So that was a very wonderful feeling for me to see that I could actually help farmers with their bottom line, with their profitability. Jim was another one, an early one that fits the most Northern counties of North Dakota. Those farmers needed an early, maturing soybean as an alternative to their small grains because they needed a way to make a profit and some people said Jim even saved some of the farms up there. So that was really rewarding for me to develop Jim and have him be so widely grown. His standards are just very high. He had a number of varieties that other breeders would have released, but Ted was not going to release a variety that he didn't have 100% confidence in. Joel Thorsrude has spent his life and career farming near Hillsborough, North Dakota. He graduated from North Dakota State University in 1973 and for nearly 50 years has been passionate about growing healthy crops that feed the world. Joel introduced soybeans to his crop rotation in the early 90s and his appreciation for this new crop was immediate. He was fascinated by all the uses for this little bean. As a result, Joel became active with the North Dakota Soybean Council and the United Soybean Board. Their wisdom and good fortune that they hired a very good plant breeder, they didn't have a lot of resources to put into it, but he did a lot of very good work with a limited budget and gave us a jump start on these varieties that we needed. Probably saved a lot of farmers from going broke at that time. Seeing the impact soybeans have had on his life and recognizing the impact of NDSU research that allowed him to be successful in his farming career, Joel decided he wanted to make a legacy gift to North Dakota State University. After meeting with NDSU agriculture leadership, he learned that the most impactful gift he could make was to endow a professorship. The greatest institutions have the best minds and endowed professorships allow universities to recruit and retain the highest quality faculty. Recognizing the incredible impact of TED Helms on North Dakota's soybean industry and NDSU's phenomenal soybean breeding program, Joel decided to create a planned gift for the TED Helms Endowed Professorship. It will support a faculty member in the NDSU Department of Plant Sciences in soybean breeding, providing funds that will expand research capacity and teaching methodologies to create superior soybean breeds that will benefit North Dakota farmers, as well as enrich the academic experience for hundreds of students in the future. Everything I am and everything I have is a gift from God, but a lot of it has come through agriculture also. My association with NDSU and agriculture is very strong, so I thought, well, certainly a portion of my estate should go to agriculture and NDSU. Endowed professorships are really critical to an institution like NDSU, especially when it comes to retaining talent and keeping our top quality scientists and faculty members here working for the institution. They really allow us to enhance programs through having the funds available to attract scientists, attract graduate students, fund postdoctoral scientists positions, provide some of that basic support for our scientists to continue to develop their programs. For decades, the strong partnership between NDSU and North Dakota soybean farmers has created an impactful soybean research program that will ensure continued success for decades to come. We are grateful to Ted Helms for his work to build a strong, thriving soybean breeding program that has and will have a lasting impact for generations to come. To Joel Thorsrout for his long-term commitment to the soybean industry and his legacy gift that will help the institution and industry he loves grow and thrive long into the future. And to every soybean farmer for your collective work to support agriculture research, your land-grant institution, and the future of agriculture. Thank you.