Gov. Braun greets Soybean Oil Masters graduates following a successful program

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 29, 2025) — Indiana farmers and agribusinesses hosted international trade teams last week as part of the final phase for this year’s class of Soybean Oil Masters, an event designed by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA), the state soybean checkoff program. The Soybean Oil Masters program shows global soybean industry stakeholders why U.S.-grown soybeans should be preferred.

This program educates and fosters connections internationally within the agricultural, trade and culinary sectors. The 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. The program covers various aspects including nutritional benefits, practical applications, production processes and the sustainability of U.S. soybean production.

This year’s Soybean Oil Masters class had 99 graduates from 19 countries. These graduates are buyers and end-users of U.S. soybeans. To complete their course, these industry stakeholders recently toured soybean farms and processors in Indiana.

Gov. Mike Braun addressed the Soybean Oil Masters graduates during a ceremony on May 23, highlighting Indiana’s leadership role in producing soybeans and many other farm products.

“As long as I’m Governor of Indiana, we’re going to maintain that leadership role with real-world experience and an entrepreneurial spirit,” Gov. Braun said. “Having been part of the farm economy myself, I understand the challenges farmers face and what it takes to actually get that crop in the ground through harvest, keeping Indiana farms healthy. It is a privilege to be here today, and I look forward to working with all of you to maintain Indiana agriculture as a national leader.”

He advised the global business leaders to constantly seek new roads within their industry.

“Be innovative, find new roads for growth and success, and look to avoid the cul-de-sac,” Gov. Braun said. “Bringing it back to your industry, soybeans for many years were simply a livestock feed. We used to see a single purpose for soybeans. Now look at all of the different uses of soybean. That’s amazing. What we need to keep focused on is continuing that journey. We need to make sure we’re looking for what that next act is going to be.”

Indiana is the leading producer in the world of high oleic soybeans. To showcase that product, the Soy Oil Masters program participants enjoyed food cooked in high oleic soybean oil at the Indianapolis 500 and at a lunch at Victory Field, home of Indianapolis Indians’ baseball.

Soybean Oil Masters participants

This year the Soybean Oil Masters participants came from Bangladesh, Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia. The tours through Indiana included stops at Beck’s Hybrids, Corteva Agriscience, Pence Group, Bunge and Fischer Food Grade & Seeds; research sites at Purdue University; and several Indiana farms.

The purpose of these tours was to highlight the care of soybean production in Indiana and to give international soybean stakeholders an opportunity to ask questions of farmers.

“They get to see firsthand how soy is grown, that technology and how it’s being incorporated, and how seeds are produced,” said Fradbelin Escarraman, USSEC market lead in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. “They get to understand a little bit better the whole value chain of soy. We differentiate U.S. soybean oil from other origins, create a preference for U.S. soy, and dealing with market access issues. But we want these companies to be more efficient, be more aware of what’s happening in the soy industry, and that will translate in buying more U.S. soy.”

Among the attendees was Degan Septoadji, a chef from Indonesia with a popular YouTube channel called Behind the Chef. Degan said making handshake-level connections with Indiana farmers and agribusinesses was valuable.

“I’ve seen pictures and video of American farms, but you can’t really understand how big it is until you come here and see it,” Degan said. “What I have learned through this experience is that there is a family feel to everything. From the farmer to the businesses that buy and ship those soybeans, there is a family passion about doing a good job.”

He added, “I’m a chef in Indonesia, and I use a lot of soybeans in my business. If it’s tempeh or tofu or soybean oil, culturally, we use a lot of soybeans in our food. It has been a great experience to meet the people who grow the soybeans and the people who send them to us.”

Hosting trade teams

The Hoosier farmers who hosted these tours included Kevin Kelley, Brookston, Ind.; Adam Sheller, Noblesville, Ind.; Tyler Everett, Lebanon, Ind.; Scott Smith, Windfall, Ind.; and Chris Eck, Boggstown, Ind.

“It’s all about building trust between the people who grow it, move it, buy it and use it,” said Sheller, who is also a board director for the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC), the state’s corn checkoff program.

The program targets participants from across the soybean oil value chain, including importers, crushers, refiners, consumer goods companies, the hospitality and institutional sectors, cooks and nutritionists. The participants may understand their part of the value chain but lack a detailed understanding for the rest of it. “Hosting trade teams helps put a face to the product,” said Kelley, an ISA board director. “When international buyers hear U.S. soybeans, I hope they remember our family farm and how we do the best job we can to produce a product that they’re going to enjoy purchasing and using in their systems.”

Eck added that there is no substitute for building relationships. “Trade visits are valuable to the checkoff and to farmers because they bring our customers directly to the farm,” said Eck, also an ISA board director. “It’s a chance to show them the quality of our products, how they’re grown, and to build a relationship that makes them want to come back. If we can invest in bringing customers here to see how we produce our crops, they’re more likely to stay our customers for years to come.”

According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Hoosier farmers intend to plant more than 5 million acres of soybeans this year. Indiana produced more than 341 billion bushels of soybeans worth more than $4.4 billion last growing season. Indiana is the third-largest soybean-producing state in America.

Program history

Indiana’s soybean checkoff’s mission is to increase the crop’s value by finding new customers. ISA’s strategy to accomplish this goal is comprehensive and requires partners such as USSEC.

The Indiana Soybean Oil Masters program started in Korea seven years ago. Approximately 400 soybean oil industry representatives have graduated from the program in Korea. USSEC and ISA use the program to encourage trade, and Korea is the No. 1 importer of U.S. soybean oil. Korea is also an early adopter of high oleic soybean oil.

USSEC’s mission is to maximize the utilization, value and access to markets of U.S. Soy around the world. USSEC receives soybean farmer checkoff dollars from USB and several state soybean checkoff organizations, including ISA.

USSEC tries to fulfill its mission of creating a preference for U.S. Soy by nurturing relationships, growing awareness and demonstrating value to global customers. With offices in more than 80 countries, USSEC helps customers with diverse backgrounds and experiences to reach their full potential by using U.S. Soy products.

Visit www.ussec.org for details about U.S. Soy export efforts. Go to www.unitedsoybean.org for news about the national soybean checkoff.

About Indiana Soybean Alliance: The Indiana Soybean Alliance works to enhance the viability of Indiana soybean farmers through the effective and efficient investment of soybean checkoff funds that protect and promote the interest of Indiana soybean farmers. The ISA works to assist soybean farmers through its strategic initiatives of market development; environmental, social and economic sustainability; value creation and producer engagement. ISA is led by an elected, farmer board that directs investments of the soybean checkoff funds on behalf of more than 20,000 Indiana soybean farmers.

About U.S. Soy Export Council: USSEC focuses on differentiating, building preference and enabling market access for the use of U.S. Soy for human consumption, aquaculture and livestock feed in 80-plus countries internationally. USSEC members represent the soy supply chain including U.S. Soy farmers, processors, commodity shippers, merchandisers, allied agribusinesses and agricultural organizations. USSEC is funded by the U.S. soybean checkoff, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) matching funds and industry.

This communication was funded with Indiana corn and soybean checkoff dollars.