Soybeans: From Surplus to Super Solutions

Soy Biodiesel Emissions May Trigger Inflammation

Farmers turned big challenges into amazing new ideas

Soybeans

Soy’s rise to prominence as an ingredient in commercial products can be dizzying to discuss. From tires to sneakers, pavement, candles, adhesives, plastics, there are new and exciting products made with soy being announced each year. Each new use or product represents positive growth for soybean demand. But the real story is how soy became a tool for solving big problems.

Problem: The 1980s soybean oil surplus

Iowa farmers faced a challenge in the 1980s. Soybean meal was in high demand for protein, but soybean oil was piling up with fewer buyers. “We were trying to find a market for our surplus oil because the world needed the protein from the meal and didn’t need the oil as much because no one had developed new uses for it,” says Ron Heck, past president of the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and the American Soybean Association (ASA).

The solution? Farmers invested in creating soy diesel, which grew into today’s biodiesel. “The reason we invest in new uses as soybean farmers is because we want to create markets to sell our products,” says Heck. At first, no one thought biodiesel would be a big deal. But with rising concerns about oil supplies and cleaner energy, biodiesel became a hit. From just 8.58 million gallons in 2001 to nearly 1.7 billion gallons in 2023, biodiesel proved how one solution could change an entire industry.

Problem: Petroleum prices and newspapers

In the late ’70s and ’80s, rising oil prices hit newspaper companies hard. Ink costs were climbing, and sometimes there wasn’t enough to go around. That’s when soy oil stepped in again. By 1987, the Cedar Rapids Gazette printed the first newspaper with soy ink. Don Latham, then chair of the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board, explained its benefits: “It’s a completely biodegradable product. So even though it might be a little more expensive initially, the overall cost of the soybean oil-based program is much less to the printer.”

Why The U.S. Is Now Obsessed With Soybeans

Soy ink not only solved the cost problem but also brought brighter colors, less smudging, and environmental benefits. By 1989, 1,000 newspapers used soy ink, and by 2005, it was everywhere. A new solution had become the new normal.

Finally, a good problem

By the late ’90s, the biobased economy was emerging. Former President Bill Clinton signed an order in 1999 to grow these industries, and the 2002 Farm Bill created the “USDA BioPreferred Program.” “It authorized USDA to create the Biobased Product label, which launched around 2011,” says Matt Herman of ISA. This label helped consumers recognize soy-based and other plant-based products.

Now, hundreds of soy-based solutions exist, from fuel to ink to sneakers. The challenge today isn’t whether soy can solve problems—it’s deciding which problems it will solve next.

What I love about this story is how farmers refused to give up when they faced problems. Instead, they kept searching for new ideas. Soy diesel, soy ink, and the biobased economy show that sometimes the biggest problems create the biggest opportunities. That’s a lesson we can all use: when you hit a wall, don’t stop—look for the solution that could change everything.

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