"Many people define and measure sustainability differently, and the discussion about what it really means can generate more heat than light," says David Wilson, United Soybean Board Sustainability Initiative (USB) chairman and soy farmer from Lincoln, Ala. "Agriculture has been working well for 10,000 years, so it has always been sustainable historically. But soy producers are doing some innovative work recently to improve on that success and make sure soy production continually decreases environmental impact and remains sustainable going forward."

 

According to Wilson, US soy sustainability also extends beyond the farm. High-quality feed, which represents the primary use for soy, helps significantly increase the efficiency of livestock production. With most soy being used for livestock and aquaculture feed, there are sustainability benefits that result from US soy through increased production efficiency, Wilson adds.

 

"Soy-based feed ingredients provide excellent nutrition," he notes. "Using soy for animal feed increases the efficiency and decreases impact per unit of output from poultry, beef and pork operations."

 

"The amount of grain-producing land per person is projected to drop to one-third of what it was in 1950.  At most, there is 12% more arable land available that is not presently forested or environmentally marginal.  Meanwhile, the World Water Council projects in just 10 years, the need for fresh water will be 17% higher than water availability. These are significant problems that threaten the food supply, yet these issues get little media attention amidst all the green chatter that’s going on," he says.

 

"We're trying to proactively define and measure our industry in an effort to showcase what we're already doing as producers.  We've made great strides in production agriculture in this country. We have been practicing sustainability, we are sustainable, and we'll continue to perfect that," says Doug Goehring, a soy farmer from North Dakota.

 

Soy production increases since 1987 resulted in soy land use per bushel decreasing by 26%. "Without those yield improvements, we would have needed to add land area about the size of Indiana into production to meet the current demand for soy," Wilson notes.

Energy use decreased 1.34 million BTUs per acre, or 54% from 1987 to 2008. In the same period, energy use per bushel decreased by 61% due to more sustainable farming practices.

 

Soy growers decreased soil loss by more than one tonne per acre, or 37% over the study period. In 2008, soil loss per bushel was 46% less than in 1987, resulting from shifts in production practices including reduced-tillage adoption.

 

Soy farmers have reduced carbon emissions by 22 pounds per acre or, 24% over the study period. Emissions per bushel decreased 35%. Since 2000, the soy industry has reduced overall carbon emissions by an average of 104 million pounds of carbon each year.