From farm to frontline, the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council is taking another giant leap forward to highlight environmentally friendly investments from the soybean checkoff. Douglas County soybean farmers, in partnership with MSR&PC, which directs the state’s soybean checkoff resources, are launching the Stepping Up campaign to amplify farmer profitability and promote the value-added uses of the “miracle bean” while making community connections.

Coming on the heels of the successful Driving Soy promotion, Minnesota counties are lacing up to promote renewable, value-added soy products and give back to frontline health care workers in their counties.

“We are so excited to be able to give back to our health care workers,” Douglas County Corn and Soybean Growers board member Deb Johnson said. “Whenever we have the opportunity, we want to spread awareness of the many uses of soy and being able to give back to our community at the same time is the icing on the cake.”

As part of the Stepping Up promotional effort, Douglas County is donating 50 pairs of Skechers soy-based GO shoes to Evansville Care Campus.

The Stepping Up campaign has run throughout summer and fall 2022. The statewide effort strives to inform both the farming and non-farming public on soy’s environmental advantages and the myriad uses of soybean oil. County leaders also want to show their appreciation to health care workers in their community.

“We know how much health care workers sacrifice for others in communities throughout Minnesota, especially in the past couple of years. I’ve seen it firsthand,” Council Chair Joe Serbus. His wife, Doreen, has worked in health care for more than 40 years. “This campaign is an investment in both value-added soybean products and in the selfless health care professionals who keep us safe and healthy.”

In 2020, Skechers released its GO line of footwear, which uses soybean oil to improve grip, stability and durability. Skechers is using the same checkoff-supported technology featured in Goodyear Tire Company’s line of sustainable soy-based tires, which incorporated soy into its rubber technology.

Kurt Stockbridge, Skechers vice president of product development and innovation, said the company and the soybean checkoff are stepping up to create a superior shoe and reduce their environmental footprints.

“Discovering ways to make product more sustainable is top of mind for Skechers,” Stockbridge said in a press release. “Though we were aware of the sustainable qualities of soybean oil, we were surprised to learn what the oil could do to improve our outsole rubber performance.”

For each dollar Douglas County soybean farmers pay toward checkoff resources, local growers receive an estimated $12.33 in return value. Today, more than 1,000 commercially available products – ranging from shoes to machinery lubricants to asphalt – use commodity and high oleic soybean oil.

“Once that soybean hits the mill, it’s local, it’s national – it’s everywhere,” Belinda Burrier, a United Soybean director who helped oversee the partnership with Skechers, said in a press release. “The money farmers make back on the checkoff is fantastic.”

Follow the Stepping Up social media campaign at #SoySteppingUp and by visiting mnsoybean.org/stepping-up.

“We hope that they enjoy walking on soy,” said Johnson.