STORY: :: Archive
The Trump administration has rejected all four women farmers chosen by their peers to serve on the United Soybean Board -- a rare intervention in what has long been a routine approval process.
Normally, soybean farmers nominate their own representatives, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture signs off.
But this year, the USDA rejected at least five nominees -- including four women -- without providing an explanation.
The move comes as the Trump administration works to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies across the federal government.
One of those rejected was Susan Watkins, a soybean farmer in Virginia who had served on the board for six years.
A conservative who supports Trump, Watkins had just been selected as treasurer, overseeing the board's 2026 budget. She said she was stunned when she learned her appointment had been overturned weeks after the board's first meeting...
telling Reuters, quote, "We should be judged on our merit. It's very disheartening... I was on the path to become chair within several years and that was taken away from me."
Three of the four women who were rejected told Reuters they suspected gender was a factor, especially after no women were appointed among 40 new and reappointed directors.
The USDA declined to explain the rejections, saying only that the agriculture secretary selects board members from state nominees. The White House did not provide records related to the decision.
:: Archive
As a result, women now hold just five seats on the 77-member soybean board -- the lowest level in at least a decade -- even though women make up more than a third of U.S. farmers.
