The New American Engine: U.S. Soy Fuels Clean Energy, Biobased Products and Farm Resilience

ST. LOUIS, July 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- From your running shoes to the renewable fuels moving our trucks, trains, and ships, soybeans are quietly transforming America's economy and giving farmers new ways to stay competitive in a changing world. As soybean farmers navigate volatile export markets, they're leveraging homegrown innovation to build domestic demand across the food, energy and animal feed sectors. This U.S.-grown crop also provides a renewable alternative to petroleum in everyday products which power a sustainable future.

"U.S. Soy is no longer solely an animal feed or export crop, it's a platform for American innovation," said Lucas Lentsch, CEO of the United Soybean Board (USB). "These investments aren't abstract. They're happening on the farm and in the market today, creating real impact and new value for companies, consumers and farmers."

From Fuel Tanks to Firefighting Foam
Soybean oil is now being used to fuel commercial trucks, school buses, and even trains, with all six Class 1 railroads committed to expanding their use of soy-based biofuels. By 2030, clean fuels will eliminate over 50 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions annually¹ and already reduce emissions by more than 70% on average compared to traditional petroleum diesel.²

The innovation doesn't stop at fuel. Soy is also found in more than 1,000 consumer products, from PFAS-free firefighting foam to synthetic turf, shoes, tires, plastics, plywood, and even emergency services [see accompanying infographic]. A surge in demand for soy-based products across various sectors is helping to diversify markets and keep farm families in business.

"This isn't niche, it's the future of American manufacturing and energy. With soy as a drop-in replacement, a petroleum use today is a soy innovation tomorrow," Lentsch said.

A Strategic Pivot Toward Domestic Resilience
About 60% of U.S. soybeans are exported, making farmers vulnerable to tariffs and shifts in global trade. Today, the half a million U.S. soybean farmers collectively invest in U.S. markets — biofuels, biobased products, human nutrition and the poultry, pig and dairy feed sectors that provide value through domestic channels and provide long-term stability. However, our export markets and growing international demand for U.S. Soy still remains top of mind for the agriculture industry.  

Domestic markets have always been on soybean farmers' radar. Thirty years ago, they dreamed big and created the biofuels market through the United Soybean Board. In the last 15 years, soy usage in biofuels has grown from 868 million pounds to a staggering 13.2 billion pounds. This can be attributed to farmers' strategic foresight, and those numbers continue to grow.

Sustainability that Starts at the Source
U.S. soybean farmers are global leaders in sustainability. Through cover crops, conservation tillage, and precision technologies, they're producing more with less while improving soil and water health. Initiatives like Farmers for Soil Health, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and led by the soy, corn and pork commodity groups, aim to double cover crop acreage and reach 30 million acres by 2030.

"As farmers, we know sustainability isn't a buzzword, it's how we operate every day," said Philip Good, United Soybean Board chair and Mississippi farmer who raises soybeans, corn, cotton, beef cattle and catfish. "My 99-year-old father once taught me to treat our soil like a bank account and make more deposits than withdrawals, and that's stuck with me through my farming career. Whether it's reducing emissions through cleaner fuels or replacing petroleum in everyday products, we're showing how U.S. agriculture can drive innovation and protect the planet at the same time."

Big Numbers, Big Impact – U.S. Soy:

• Contributes $124 billion to the U.S. economy and supports more than 500,000 on-farm jobs³
• Remains America's No. 1 agricultural export, adding more than $31 billion to the U.S. economy.⁴
• Adds $9.8 billion to the GDP annually and generates $1 billion in tax revenue⁵
• Displaces about 10.7 million barrels of oil a year through the biobased products industry.⁶
• Surrounds us in more than 1,000 products in the streets we drive on, the shoes we wear and the biofuels for our vehicles.

About U.S. Soy / United Soybean Board
Representing the positive global impact of soy grown in the United States, the U.S. Soy brand exists to advance soy's full potential as a solution for a better world — from supporting sustainable agriculture to enabling innovation across diverse industries. U.S. Soy is powered by the ingenuity of the industry; the unsurpassed quality, reliability, and sustainability of the soybeans grown by our farming families; and the commitment of the organizations that raise awareness, build demand, develop new markets, and discover new uses for soy and soy products. U.S. Soy, supported by the Soy Checkoff, envisions a world where soy is a fundamental ingredient in solving the broad challenges of humanity.

The United Soybean Board (USB) is a farmer-led organization that directs Soy Checkoff investments creating value for U.S. soybean farmers through education, promotion and research. Through strategic research and partnerships, USB helps farmers adapt to global change, enhances on-farm resiliency and champions U.S. Soy in the food, feed, fuel, and industrial markets. To learn more about U.S. Soy/United Soybean Board, visit ussoy.org.

¹ Clean Fuels Alliance America: https://cleanfuels.org/sustainable-impact/  
² Argonne National Laboratory: https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/diesels-emissions  
³ The Economic Impact of the U.S. Soybeans & End Products on the U.S. Economy: https://unitedsoybean.org/hopper/new-study-finds-u-s-soybean-industry-has-124-billion-impact-on-the-united-states-economy/   
⁴ U.S. Soybean Export Council: https://ussec.org/soybean-meal-exports-set-new-record-in-2023-24-marketing-year/   
⁵ Cornell University's Return on Investment study for the Soy Checkoff: https://unitedsoybean.org/hopper/united-soybean-boards-investments-yield-impressive-roi-drive-value-back-to-farmers-and-support-the-broader-economy/   
⁶ USDA Rural Development report — An Economic Impact Analysis of the U.S. Biobased Products Industry: https://www.rd.usda.gov/media/file/download/usda-rd-economic-impact-analysis-us-biobased-products-industry-2023-508.pdf

SOURCE United Soybean Board