There are nearly 750 miles between New York and Wisconsin. For Northern Soy Marketing (NSM) Secretary/Treasurer Nancy Kavazanjian, those 750 miles tell quite the story. 

“I was born and raised on Long Island, New York,” Kavazanjian said. “I didn’t know much about farming except that when I was in elementary school, we used to go to upstate New York and Pennsylvania, and I’d always want to pet the cows in the pastures.”  

Kavazanjian, whose mother was a physical education teacher and whose father worked for the U.S. government, knew at a young age that the Empire State wouldn’t be her home forever.  

“When I became a teenager, I wanted to get as far away from that lifestyle as I could without going to California,” Kavazanjian said. “At 14, I took a trip with my parents across the country. We drove to Denver and I kind of fell in love with Colorado.” 

A few years later, Kavazanjian enrolled at Colorado State University as an animal science major. Like many college students, she eventually switched career tracks. 

“I was always interested in journalism – I was editor of my school newspaper in high school – and at the time, I was working for the student newspaper and a local newspaper in Fort Collins,” Kavazanjian said. “I talked to my dean, and he suggested that I major in ag journalism.” 

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in ag journalism, Kavazanjian wound up in Chicago, working as a reporter on the Commodity Exchange. But it wouldn’t be long before the road led her to the Badger State. 

“I was at a Top Farmers of America conference when I met my husband-to-be,” Kavazanjian recalled. “I started skiing with him on weekends and a year later he asked me to marry him. I thought, ‘I’ll see where this goes with this guy.’” 

Married in 1980, Nancy and her husband, Charles Hammer, have been married for 44 years and are the fourth generation of the Hammer Farm. When she first moved to Wisconsin, it was a big adjustment. 

“We lived far enough in the country that I was afraid to go to the grocery store because I didn’t know if I’d find my way home,” Kavazanjian said. “We didn’t have cell phones, and I wasn’t great at reading maps, so it took me a little getting used to.” 

Kavazanjian quickly adjusted to her new life and dove headfirst into Wisconsin’s soybean industry when she joined the Wisconsin Soybean Association board. Today, she represents Wisconsin on the United Soybean Board (USB). 

“I got involved in either 1987 or 1988,” Kavazanjian said. “I’ve had people ask me why I would volunteer my time to be involved, and truthfully, I got involved because I felt like it was my industry, and I’ve always believed in giving back and doing volunteer work.” 

And give back she has and continues to do. But Kavazanjian says that the benefits far outweigh the costs. 

“In the years that I’ve been involved, I can tell you that I have gained so much back in knowledge, in leadership skills, in just learning to get along with people and in understanding the industry,” Kavazanjian said. “I’ve gotten back more than I’ve ever given to the industry.” 

In December 2022, the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB) joined NSM and selected Kavazanjian to represent Wisconsin soybean producers on the board. 

“As a USB director, I don’t have a vote at WSMB meetings, but I can give my two cents,” Kavazanjian said. “The president of the board said that if no one was willing to sit on the NSM board, WSMB wasn’t going to join. So, I said, ‘If you really want to do this, I’d be glad to get involved.’” 

Why? 

“I think that it’s important that we’re connected with the other states in our region to work on moving soybeans,” Kavazanjian said.  

As the year progresses, Kavazanjian is excited to welcome international stakeholders to the Upper Midwest for the NSM Crop Tour in early October. 

“I love entertaining people in the United States from other countries,” Kavazanjian said. “I’m really looking forward to meeting the folks from Indonesia that I may have visited when I was over there last winter.” 

And, as always, Kavazanjian is ready to continue working to market the benefit of buying northern-grown soybeans, especially from Pacific Northwest grain export terminals. 

“It’s really important that we work on our exports,” Kavazanjian said. “I want to see what more we can do as far as looking at ways to improve the movement of soybeans out of the Upper Midwest. Especially this year because we know we have low prices.”