Sustainable Production

U.S. Farmers: Leading on Sustainability

The Foundation of U.S. Soy’s Sustainable Production
U.S. soybean farmers don’t just talk about sustainability – they’ve been practicing it for decades. Your checkoff investments through United Soybean Board, working alongside the U.S. Soybean Export Council and the American Soybean Association, prove that sustainable practices deliver environmental results and lay the foundation for future market premiums. Soy Checkoff investments in sustainable practices deliver measurable returns through yield protection, new market opportunities, and reduced input costs. When global buyers need verified sustainable soy, they choose U.S. soybeans because farmers here deliver measurable performance.

Improving Sustainable Production
Your checkoff dollars fund research that protects yields and cuts costs. When drought or soybean cyst nematode (SCN) threaten yields, checkoff investments deliver solutions. The SCN Coalition — a public/private partnership funded in part by your checkoff — helps identify new resistance genes and provides farmers with tools like the SCN Profit Checker to actively manage this pest, which causes more than $1.5 billion in annual losses.

These breakthroughs supported one of the checkoff’s greatest research successes: its role in sequencing the soybean genome. This farmer-funded research accelerated the identification of valuable genes that provide benefits that impacts the entire U.S. soybean industry. It included identification of genes that provide better resistance to diseases and environmental stressors. The checkoff also explores improvements to the nutritional qualities of soybeans such as protein level, digestibility and amino acid content.

Your checkoff tackles the challenges that cost farmers money: drought and SCN that threaten yields, fertilizer costs that squeeze margins, weeds that resist everything you throw at them, and slugs that devastate young stands. Every research dollar targets real problems you face in the field. Also, the Soy Checkoff ensures you get credit for the sustainability practices you’ve already been doing – turning conservation practices into cost share opportunities like Farmers for Soil Health where growers get paid to plant cover crops.

In the field, farmers put science to work: rotations, no-till, and cover crops that build healthy soils[i]; precision technology that targets inputs and trims costs[ii]; and water-smart systems that protect quality and improve resilience[iii]. Together, these efforts advance our shared sustainability goals while strengthening farm profitability.

Driving Resilient Soybean Production and Adapting to Global Markets
Global demand is changing and yield alone no longer guarantees advantage. Brazil has increased soybean output since the mid-2010s and could convert an additional 70 million acres of pastureland to crop production[iv]. This reshapes export dynamics since U.S. soybean farmers can no longer compete on volume. Meanwhile, many buyers want lower-carbon soy with verified performance, and they’ll pay for it. And U.S. soy outcompetes the carbon footprint of Brazilian and Argentine soy.[v] Translation for U.S. growers: We won’t win on price every year, but we can win on performance that is measured and recognized. Current conservation practices (reduced tillage, cover crops, precision nutrient management) protect yields and improve environmental outcomes.

Our Shared Commitment: Setting New Targets for the Future
To keep U.S. Soy competitive on a global stage, USB, USSEC, and ASA have updated its national sustainability goals, targeting 2030). These goals build on the incredible progress we’ve already made, using 2020 as our benchmark. The goals prioritize continuous improvement, ensuring U.S. Soy remains the most trusted and preferred choice globally. These aren’t arbitrary targets; they’re what buyers need to see to keep choosing U.S. Soy over other suppliers. By 2030[vi], U.S. Soy aims to reduce its land-use impact by 10% (planted acres per bushel) getting more from every acre farmed; cut soil erosion by 25% (tons of soil loss per acre) protecting our most valuable asset; lower energy use by 10% (BTUs per bushel) boosting efficiency and cutting on-farm costs; and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% (pounds of CO₂ equivalent per bushel) further solidifying U.S. Soy’s low carbon footprint. Each target represents real opportunity, from USDA conservation program payments to premium contracts with sustainability-conscious buyers.

Join the Journey: Continue Leading with U.S. Soy.
U.S. soybean sustainability creates a competitive advantage that Brazilian and Argentine farmers can’t match. Through hard work, ambitious goals, and a proven track record, U.S. Soy delivers sustainable solutions that benefit farms, communities, and the world. While competitors make promises about future sustainability, U.S. farmers deliver verified results today. The following are checkoff-funded resources that help you make the most of sustainability on your farms:

  • Farmers for Soil Health: A farmer-led program helps farmers enhance soil health practices, like planting cover crops, to improve the environment and profitability, Offering cost-share payments and technical assistance across 20 states.
  • Better Together: These resources deliver unbiased, research-based information to enhance U.S. soybean production, making it a cornerstone resource for soybean farmers and stakeholders.
  • Crop Protection Network: Delivers timely information to help farmers make informed decisions about soybeans and other crops and provides important crop protection information across the ag sector.
  • GROW (Getting Rid of Weeds) and Take Action: Arms you with strategies to manage herbicide resistance and encourages the adoption of management practices that help preserve current and future herbicide technologies. Click here to download or order a Herbicide Classification Chart to determine different modes of action.
  • Science for Success: Gives you access to timely, data-driven best management practices so farmers can better manage agronomic sustainability.
  • SCN Coalition: A public/private partnership with the Soy Checkoff to increase the number of soybean growers who are actively managing soybean cyst nematode to increase profit potential and realize higher yields.
  • Soybean Research and Information Network: Your centralized hub for the latest state and national checkoff-funded production research findings to help farmers enhance their productivity and sustainability.

Additional Resources

  • EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) : Provides information on the importance of sustainable agriculture for protecting human health and the environment, including resources on managing food waste and reducing methane emissions.

 

[i] USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service: nrcs-fact-sheet-conservation-crop-rotation-v2-09112025-508-compliant.pdf

[ii] Precision Agriculture: Benefits and Challenges for Technology Adoption and Use | U.S. GAO, Precision Agriculture with GPS | GPS.gov

[iii] Water Quantity Practices and Resources | Farmers.gov

[iv] University of Illinois, Ohio State University: https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2024/04/potential-for-crop-expansion-in-brazil-based-on-pastureland-and-double-cropping.html

[v] Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk, Agri-footprint: https://ussec.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SBO-U.S.-Compared-to-Argentina-and-Brazil-2025.pdf

[vi] United Soybean Board: https://unitedsoybean.org/hopper/u-s-soy-partners-update-national-sustainability-continuous-improvement-goals/