WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of United Soybean Board (USB) farmers-directors joined Agri-Pulse founder and editor Sara Wyant to discuss ways to create additional farm revenue streams such as high oleic soybean premiums, new cost share programs for cover crops and the burgeoning energy market. The discussion also touched on tools to improve on-farm resilience. 

“In this economically challenging farm environment, growers are looking at ways to maximize productivity and revenue, while keeping costs as low as possible,” said Wyant, who introduced a three-person panel of soybean board directors with the question of whether farmers will continue to support conservation on their farms after facing successive years of financial challenges. 

According to Michigan farmer and USB director Laurie Isley, environmental sustainability is a longstanding tenet of her operation and a hedge against lower commodity prices and margins.  She detailed a new USB cost-share program for cover crops in conjunction with the National Corn Growers Association and Pork Checkoff program that can return additional revenue to the farm. 

“We utilized cover crops for many, many years but a couple of years ago had to make a very tough decision because it was an extra $35 an acre,” Isley said. “We’ve been in some of the government cover crop programs before, and they are limited in terms of how long you are eligible. With the Farmers for Soil Health (FFSH) project through the National Pork Producers (Council) and the USB, available in 20 states, it offers cost-share and technical assistance for planting cover crops. This can offer farmers a way to get involved and see the long-term benefits (of cover crops).”

New in 2026, the FFSH program offers “no look-back” enrollment that welcomes growers who have attempted cover cropping (though not under federal government-based cost share programs) in the past. It offers producers open-ended, one-year contracts that can be renewed annually as long as the FFSH is funded. It pays farmers a premium of $35 for growing cover crops. 

“You can enroll up to 2,000 acres. Signup started May 1, so if you go to the FFSH website (https://farmersforsoilhealth.com/) you can enroll through there and find out who your technical advisor will be,” said Isley.

From there, the conversation turned to premiums farmers can enjoy from cultivating high oleic soybeans, which are a genetically modified strain of soybeans that contain 70 percent or greater oleic acid. High oleic soybean oil is lower in saturated fat and higher in monounsaturated fat and is often labeled as heart-healthy. It is also regarded as more stable for industrial use than standard soybean oil.

The Soybean Checkoff has invested over $10 million in developing the high oleic soybean industry. Currently, 21 varieties are available to farmers. Demand for high oleic beans is creating an additional premium available to those willing to grow high oleic brands for industry customers, noted Matt Chapman, Indiana farmer and USB director. Indiana and Ohio are the top producing states for high oleic soybeans, he said, with growers earning premiums ranging from 75 cents to $1.25 per bushel in the 2025 season. 

“Certain end users who buy our products offer incentives whether it’s an ethanol plant or a soy processor for doing new practices,” said Chapman, who recently planted his fourth annual high-oleic soybean crop. “High oleic-brand soybeans have been a home run for our industry in terms of return on investment. There is more demand than we can currently produce, and that puts us in a good position.”

Starting with around 20 percent of his crop planted in high oleic beans, the Indiana farmer has gradually increased that share to 100 percent of his bean plantings. It is estimated that U.S. farmers currently have around 1.5 million acres of soybeans planted in high-oleic varieties, with intentions to expand their acreage in 2027, Chapman stated. 

Recently, Indiana-based Beck’s introduced a high oleic soybean seed variety, according to Chapman. He noted that the USB estimated that by 2027 half of oleic beans produced by U.S. farmers will be utilized by the dairy industry. Industry markets for high oleic soybeans include food oil, dairy feed (utilizing roasted soybeans; a recent discovery), asphalt, bioplastics, fire-resistant hydraulic oil for mining operations, and more.

“Indiana has been really aggressive in promoting high oleic soybean oil,” Chapman said. “We’re blessed to have Frito Lay and Nestle as our first purchasers here in the state. As USB expands the market into other states, we’re trying to help move the pile for everybody.”

Renewable diesel offers another premium opportunity for soybean growers when nearby infrastructure exists, according to Kansas farmer and USB director Charles Atkinson. He said efforts to increase renewable diesel infrastructure and productivity remain a top priority of the USB. “If we can continue developing and producing more renewable diesel we are going to see more of an economic upturn on the prices we get,” Atkinson said. 

USB’s 2026 priorities include expanding soy’s biofuel footprint through research demonstrating soy’s low carbon intensity and lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, investments will increase the overall renewable fuels market through new market development, with soy-based biofuels playing an important role in biodiesel, renewable diesel, Bioheat®, and the marine, air and rail markets. 

The panel discussion, “How Sustainable Production and Economic Viability Can Coexist,” was held on Thursday, May 7 as a free webinar and is archived through Agri-Pulse’s website.