Times are undeniably tough across the countryside. Input costs continue to climb, profit margins are squeezing tighter, and the pressure on the family farm is relentless. But the people who know to produce soybeans best are fighting back with strategy, discipline, and a massive war chest designed to protect and expand the future of U.S. soybean industry.
During their recent gathering in Indianapolis, the United Soybean Board (USB) didn’t just meet—they mobilized. Led by 77 dedicated farmer-leaders, the board officially approved a powerhouse $122.5 million budget for the 2027 fiscal year, laser-focused on one uncompromising mission: boosting demand, driving on-farm resilience, and extracting every ounce of value for the nation’s nearly half a million soybean farmers.
For Hoosier farmers and producers across the Corn Belt, this isn’t just a corporate ledger; it’s a lifeline forged by peers who understand the dirt beneath their fingernails.
Built Like a Family Farm Budget
“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, USB Chair from Bremen, Kentucky. “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.”
That meticulous, no-nonsense approach to capital allocation is heavily anchored right here in Indiana. Don Wyss, a dedicated soybean farmer from Fort Wayne, Indiana, serves as the USB Treasurer, holding the purse strings and overseeing the strategic deployment of the entire FY27 portfolio.
Wyss knows what’s at stake on every acre in Allen County and beyond.
“This budget is the product of careful, farmer-led decisions about where checkoff dollars go,” Wyss emphasized from Indianapolis. “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.”
Where the Money Goes: Six Pillars of Growth
The newly approved funding targets three overarching pillars—Health & Nutrition, Infrastructure & Connectivity, and Innovation & Technology—while directly injecting capital into six critical market segments to outsmart the economic headwinds:
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Fuel & Energy: The checkoff is aggressively expanding renewable fuel markets across fleet, Bioheat, marine, aviation, and rail. Backed by record federal renewable fuel volumes targeting approximately 5.7 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel in 2027, USB is actively clearing the path for equipment manufacturer approvals of higher biodiesel blends.
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Food & Nutrition: Science is meeting the supermarket shelf. USB is funding vital research to back the nutritional benefits of soy oil, positioning conventional and high oleic soy oil as the premier frying solution for foodservice while accelerating demand for non-GMO and high oleic varieties.
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Feed & Animal Ag: To keep livestock producers competitive, the board is establishing validated energy values for soybean meal, optimizing feeding rates to maximize animal performance, and proving empirically how soy-fed animals deliver superior meat, milk, and eggs.
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Industrial Innovations: Moving far beyond the grain bin, checkoff dollars are expanding soy into industrial lubricants, surfactants, coatings, rubber, and plastics, while pioneering soybean meal wood adhesives and commercializing revolutionary products engineered to strip harmful “forever chemicals” from the market.
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Exports on Global Stages: With demand protected and grown across more than 90 countries, USB is reinforcing critical buyer relationships and driving massive meal consumption through surging poultry, egg, pork, and aquaculture export growth worldwide.
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Sustainable Production & Yields: To keep yields safe from the ground up, funds are pouring into pest, disease, and stress tolerance research, soil health, carbon intensity modeling, and—crucially—expanding farmer compensation opportunities spanning from premium markets straight to ecosystem services.
The Steady Investment for Turbulent Skies
As commodity markets ebb and flow, the message from the Indianapolis meeting rings clear: the Soy Checkoff is playing the long game. By prioritizing high-impact, results-driven initiatives, the USB is ensuring that when a farmer climbs into the cab this season, they aren’t working alone—they have a $122.5 million engine working right alongside them, turning every harvested bushel into a stronger, more profitable future.
For more information on the United Soybean Board and how the checkoff is working for your farm, visit unitedsoybean.org.
