Lewis and Clark. Stanley and Livingstone. When it comes to making great discoveries, history verifies that two – or more – heads are better than one. The same can be said for new industrial technology that uses U.S. soy.
Over the past 25 years, soy-checkoff-supported partnerships have produced hundreds of new soy-based products and ingredients. These technologies increased industrial demand for U.S. soy from 14 million bushels in 2003 to more than 111 million bushels a decade later.
One very successful partnership created a major market for soybean oil that continues to grow. The checkoff has partnered with with the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) since its inception. Among other efforts, this partnership produced studies that demonstrate the performance, economic and sustainability benefits of the fuel. NBB shares this vast amount of data with influencers and end users to increase biodiesel demand.
“NBB just reported 2 billion gallons of biodiesel were produced last year,” says Lewis Bainbridge, soy checkoff farmer-leader from South Dakota. “Without checkoff support, this would not have been possible.”
Soy hits the road
Another great example of a product created by a checkoff partnership is soy polyols. Discovered as part of a checkoff-funded partnership with Biobased Technologies in Arkansas and Pittsburg State University in Kansas, soy polyols are being used today by multiple manufacturers as a replacement for petroleum-based ingredients in furniture, carpet, synthetic turf and other products.
“These partnerships keep building and paying dividends on our original checkoff investment,” Bainbridge explains. “The discovery of soy polyols led us to partner with Ford, which now puts soy foam cushions in every vehicle manufactured in North America. Our Ford partnership also led to the discovery of soy-based rubber being used in Goodyear and Bridgestone tires.”
The checkoff regularly checks in with its partners at Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) meetings, where manufacturers and researchers put their heads together and share information on what’s next in industrial soy use. Past meetings have led to the development of everything from soy-based equipment panels, paint, asphalt extenders, mattresses, textiles, adhesives, lubricants, furniture, printing, packaging and more.
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