April Hemmes grows soybeans and corn in north central Iowa, and she says she could talk for hours about all the ways her crops will be used.
Many bushels will be used in a variety of ways in the human food system, and many will be used as animal feed. But some soybeans and corn will be used in non-food and non-feed ways, such as asphalt binders on roads, adhesives and even in baby diapers.
Hemmes, who farms near Hampton, Iowa, has a pair of Skechers shoes with soles made out of soybean leather. She serves on the United Soybean Board’s demand action team, looking at new uses for soybeans as a way to support demand.
“There’s so many uses,” she says. “What companies are looking for is finding sustainable answers. Boy, soybeans sure check that box.”
Sarah McKay works as director of market development for the National Corn Growers Association, based at the organization’s headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. The familiar uses like food, animal feed and ethanol make up the majority of corn use, but the crop has a wide variety of uses beyond that — “industrial use, adhesives, chemicals that are typically made from petroleum but can be made from corn,” McKay says.
She says products made from crops have to be economically competitive, either bringing a cost advantage or improved performance. They can also provide environmental appeal.
This is Hemmes’ 38th year farming, and the farm has been in her family since 1901, so she appreciates the long-term investment of checkoff dollars for research and to develop new uses, she says.
There are many success stories.
Soybean oil and corn oil can be a replacement for many petroleum-based products, and Hemmes says soy-based asphalt was a success story that started in her home state. Research at Iowa State University showed soybean oil can work well as an asphalt sealant.
“It worked and was a great replacement for the chemicals they use,” Hemmes says.
Hemmes says some other uses for soy that are making headway include soy-based tires, sprays to protect shingles and concrete, kitty litter, wood glue, artificial turf and using soy meal to make firefighting foam. She says this can replace firefighting foam made using the PFAS group of substances that do not break down naturally and can cause environmental concerns.
“This is a great use for the (soy) meal out there,” she says.
Corn is being used in a variety of products as well, including belts for tractors, plastics, crayons, paint, sealants and glue, to name a few. McKay says developing new corn uses is a broad approach, rather than looking for one game-changing product.
“It’s kind of a silver buckshot approach rather than a silver bullet,” she says.
Both soybeans and corn have annual innovation challenges where people can submit new ideas and uses, many of which attract investors. Hemmes recalls the latest soy challenge, which included over 40 proposals.
“It was amazing,” she says.
That challenge included a proposal using artificial intelligence to include soy in drug designs.
McKay says the “Consider Corn” challenges have included entries using corn in absorbent products like diapers and using corn ingredients in facial moisturizing and anti-wrinkle products.
“The usability of corn and the actual corn grain is underrated,” she says.
McKay says these new uses for corn are a relatively small part of the overall demand picture, with industrial use accounting for about 5% of all corn use. But she says it is important to always be looking at new ways to use the product, which grows demand and shows new possibilities. She says this can be done without overly cutting into the food supply, given “how sustainable corn has gotten” and the impact of new crop technology and growing yields.
Hemmes says checkoff investments pay off, and she appreciates getting to be part of the process of how the funds are used.
“I like meeting the different farmers from around the nation and getting to learn their stories,” she says, “and also overseeing these projects and getting to oversee how we are investing these dollars.”
