Celebrating Soybean Oil Masters graduates

INDIANAPOLIS — More than 100 graduates of the Soybean Oil Masters program toured Indiana farms, agribusinesses and other destinations.

Indiana Soybean Alliance members celebrated the program and its recent graduates.

“We want to congratulate each and every one of you, the third class of graduates from the Soybean Oil Masters program,” said ISA Chair Kevin Cox, a farmer from Clay County.

“You have joined an elite group of only 1,000 graduates from around the world. We have 110 attendees graduating from the program representing the entire soy value chain, from crushers and refiners to importers and restaurants.

“We find this investment incredibly valuable, both for growing your market capacity and knowledge base and for creating more opportunities for Indiana and U.S. farmers to have their products used in more markets.”

About The Program

Its mission is to provide global end users, crushers and influential groups in the food industry with a comprehensive understanding of U.S. soybean oil and, ultimately, to increase demand.

Attendees learn a variety of topics including nutritional benefits, practical applications, production processes and the sustainability of U.S. soybean production.

The program is an effort led by the ISA and the U.S. Soy Export Council.

Leading The Way

Indiana is the leading producer of high oleic soybeans. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Hoosier farmers intend to plant more than 5.6 million acres of soybeans this year.

Indiana produced more than 335 billion bushels of soybeans worth an estimated $4.4 billion last growing season. Indiana is the fourth-largest soybean-producing state in America.

Finding buyers for all those soybeans requires building relationships around the globe, according to the ISA.

Taste The Difference

Program participants enjoyed food cooked in high oleic soybean oil at the Indianapolis 500, at a lunch at Victory Field and during a tour of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

“High oleic soybean oil is a healthy and nutritious alternative to traditional vegetable oils,” Cox said. “I couldn’t be prouder as an Indiana farmer to promote this success story and to show the state’s soybean farmers the value their checkoff brings.”

To learn more about U.S. soy export efforts visit www.ussec.org. To learn more about the ISA, visit www.incornandsoy.org.