Everyone knows the stone age didn't end because they ran out of stones. Innovation happens when people look at their surroundings in new ways. The checkoff helps manufacturers innovate with U.S. soy by supporting research and development of new products with the best chance of increasing demand for U.S. soy.
Last year, checkoff partnerships with manufacturers helped commercialize 38 new soy-based products and ingredients. The diverse list includes products ranging from a soy-based-plastic insert that slides into window frames for better insulation to a soy-based additive that protects oil wells from corrosion.
Dale Profit, a soy checkoff farmer-leader and soybean farmer from Van Wert, Ohio, recognizes the value that industrial uses add for U.S. soybean farmers.
"The checkoff is helping discover other products that can be made from soy to add to farmers' bottom lines," says Profit. "These products are good for the farmer, the customer and all the people in between."
Soybean meal continues to be used primarily for animal feed, while most soybean oil goes to human food production, Profit adds. But versatile soy can also help manufacturers replace petrochemicals and possible carcinogens in their products. Soy-based products are more renewable and environmentally friendly and, in some cases, even perform better.
Check out more than 860 soy-based products, 142 feedstocks and 212 companies that sell them in the 2014 Soy Products Guide.
