The United Soybean Board’s (USB) new directors, including Minnesota farmers Bill Zurn and Gene Stoel, put high oleic soybean oil to good use this holiday season to thank local firefighters for their service. A newly released video features Soy Salute to Service, where USB teamed up with the National Pork Board to highlight soy benefits with a dinner made exclusively from U.S.-produced ingredients.

“This is a chance for USB’s newly appointed directors to meet with and give back to members of the local community and enjoy some great soy-fed pork cooked in high oleic soybean oil at the same time,” said Mace Thornton, USB vice president of communications and marketing. “This event stands as a testament to the connection between farmers in the field to our communities and the food we eat.”

Engine House No. 2 is known as one of the city’s busiest firehouses. Located in the heart of downtown St. Louis, the almost 3 million people in the area they serve rely on them daily. But on this day, they were served by soybean farmers.

“Every farmer I know is involved in their community in one way or another,” said Tony Mellenthin, a new USB farmer-director from Wisconsin. “Many [farmers] serve on boards or are volunteer firefighters and EMS themselves.”

Soybeans provide a valuable benefit to our communities, from affordable and nutritious food to American-made, renewable product options. Beyond being prepared in high oleic soybean oil, the evening’s entrée was U.S. grown and also fed with U.S.-grown feed — creating a wholly domestic, and sustainable, supply chain from production to plate.

“We feed a lot of soybean meal to produce pork in the United States for the U.S. consumer,” said Dan Sprague, a pork producer who serves on the Illinois Pork Board. “We’re highly dependent on the success of soybean producers in the United States to continue to give us the feedstuffs we need to make it all work.”

Because they offer valuable characteristics on top of soy’s traditional benefits, farmers are also paid a premium for growing high oleic soybeans. Contracts to grow high oleic soybeans in 2020 are available now, with several elevators across the Midwest and select areas in Maryland. For more information on high oleic soybean contracts or the many uses of soybean oil, visit soyinnovation.com or unitedsoybean.org.