The Iowa Soybean Association has launched an effort to raise $4 million in the next year to feed the hungry. Iowa Soybean Association president Curt Sindergaard of Rolfe says it’s an opportunity for farmers to show they’re not just concerned with making money, but they’re also concerned with feeding the world.

The association made the announcement at today’s Iowa Hunger Summit, part of this week’s World Food Prize festivities in Des Moines. The group’s "Acres of Giving" effort aims to convince at least 10,000 farmers to donate the proceeds from one acre of soybeans to the cause.

United Soybean Board Director Roy Bardole of Rippey says there’s no question the need is real. "According to the United Nations, there are 400 million starving children in the world today," Bardole says.

Bardole, Sindergaard and other members of the Iowa Soybean Association’s board of directors have each written a $400 check to the "Acres of Giving" campaign. Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey has, too, and he’s urging not only Iowa farmers but Iowans who do not live on farms to join the effort.

Learn more on-line at www.iasoybeans.com .

Thanks to Peter Shinn of the Brownfield Network for contributing to this report.