By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor

Soybeans were once regarded as little more than a means for oil extraction and animal feed. But American production has skyrocketed in the last 60 years, and more diverse uses for soybean products are being researched every day.

The United Soybean Board (USB) is key in funding research for and promoting these innovations.

“We try to find new places to go with our soybeans and new uses,” Mark Seib, a USB director and soybean farmer from Poseyville, Ind., said. “We’ve got the usual ways that we use soy in the livestock industry and soy meals and whatnot, but now we’re trying to find new uses.”

In an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network, Seib discussed some of those new uses for soybean byproducts, such as producing synthetic motor oil and in car manufacturing. High oleic soybean oil has proven to be a powerhouse substance with many uses. In addition to the recent introduction of soy-based synthetic motor oil, industry leaders also announced the development of a high oleic soybean oil-based asphalt. America’s roadways may be paved with soy in the future, and we’ll be driving on soy-based tires, as well.

“Goodyear is introducing soybean oil as a tread compound in tires,” Seib said. “And Ford’s been using it in dashboards and in seats for a while now. There are so many ways the soybean is used in just the car industry itself. It’s even used in spray-in bed liners in pickups.”

Much of the research and development of soybean byproducts is due in large part to the soybean checkoff program, Seib noted.

“We just did a study, and for every dollar that was invested by the soybean checkoff, we returned $12.34,” he said. “That’s a pretty good return on every dollar that the American soybean farmer gives to the checkoff. Every time we find a new use for soy, that just makes the price for us even better, and we add more value to our product.”

To see more innovations in soybean products, visit USB’s New Uses blog at https://www.unitedsoybean.org/topics/new-uses.