In the year ahead, the United Soybean Board (USB) will boost demand for U.S. Soy℠, drive on-farm resilience and bring value to the nearly half a million U.S. soybean farmers. Led by its 77 farmer-leaders, USB recently approved a $122.5 million budget for the 2027 fiscal year, strategically allocating funds across vital research, promotion and education investments. This spans the food, feed, fuel, industrial, exports and sustainable production market segments.
“Our farmer-leaders built this budget the same way we manage our own farms, by putting every dollar where it can do the most good,” said Brent Gatton, United Soybean Board Chair from Bremen, Ky. “We’re focused on what moves volume and creates value, from protecting the markets we have – to accelerating new uses and opening new doors for U.S. Soy. Times are tough across the countryside, and the Soy Checkoff℠ is the long-term, steady investment working to make sure farmers have strong markets and the innovation to stay competitive for years to come.”
The board approved the budget during the organization’s July meeting in Indianapolis, prioritizing strategic investment in the priority areas of Health & Nutrition, Infrastructure & Connectivity, and Innovation & Technology. In addition, the board focuses its communication & education efforts on strengthening the reputation of U.S. Soy with customers, amplifying checkoff investments to inform U.S. soybean farmers and partnering with the 30+ state soybean boards on research and outreach.
Key investments USB is prioritizing in the coming fiscal year include:
- Food: Providing science-based evidence supporting the nutritional benefits of soy oil, positioning high oleic and conventional soy oil as the preferred frying solution for foodservice, and accelerating demand for differentiated varieties such as non-GMO and high oleic.
- Feed: Establishing validated energy values for soybean meal in animal diets, quantifying feeding rates that maximize animal performance and returns, and demonstrating how soy-fed animals produce better meat, milk and eggs.
- Fuel: Growing renewable fuel markets across fleet, Bioheat, marine, aviation and rail, supported by record federal renewable fuel volumes of approximately 5.7 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel in 2027, and advancing equipment manufacturer approvals for higher biodiesel blends.
- Industrial: Expanding demand for soybean oil in lubricants, surfactants, coatings, rubber and plastics, developing soybean meal applications including wood adhesives, and commercializing products that remove harmful “forever chemicals”.
- Exports: Growing and protecting demand for U.S. Soy in 90-plus countries, strengthening buyer and value chain relationships, and building demand for soybean meal through poultry, egg, pork and aquaculture export growth.
- Sustainable Production: Protecting yields through pest, disease and stress tolerance research, improving input efficiency and soil health, strengthening carbon intensity modeling, and expanding farmer compensation opportunities from premium markets to ecosystem services.
“This budget is the product of careful, farmer-led decisions about where checkoff dollars go,” said Don Wyss, USB Treasurer from Fort Wayne, Ind., who oversees strategic budget allocation of the FY27 portfolio. “We weighed every market segment and focused on the highest-impact investments, the ones that protect existing markets and build new ones. My focus as treasurer is simple: be disciplined with farmers’ money and make sure every investment is working to grow value for U.S. Soy.”
