From staff reports Rick Reimer, executive director of the Oklahoma Soybean Board, spoke about the versatility of soybeans at the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Convention held in Norman last month.
“The best thing about soybeans is that they are continuously coming up with new things that they can be used in, and that is a result of the Soybean Checkoff, which funds New Uses Research. We call soybeans the miracle crop of many uses,” he said.
Soybean meal is primarily used for livestock feed, while the oil can be used in cosmetics, paints, plastics, fuels and more.
“There is just no end to the things you can do with soybeans,” he said.
According to Reimer, 2024 has been a good year for the soybean industry due to a bit of recent rain. The state cultivates around 600,000 acres of soybeans.
“It is a good number [of acres] for our state,” he said. “It is fairly small for some of the ‘I’ states up north, but nevertheless, it is an important product for Oklahoma farmers. In fact, soybeans are the No. 2 planted crop in Oklahoma much to people’s surprise.”
Believing youth are the future of any industry, Reimer felt fortunate that the board of directors of Oklahoma Soybean Board approved the hiring of an education coordinator. “Ginger (Reimer) is our education coordinator,” he said. “She is a veteran of the classroom and has lots of great ideas about educating students. She was doing a lot of ag days and even teaching in classrooms, but she couldn’t cover enough ground by herself, so she started doing teacher workshops.”
Through the workshops, Oklahoma Soybean Board can provide curriculum and supplies to teachers.
“They have reached 19,000 students in Oklahoma with the message about where their food comes from,” Rick Reimer said, “and specifically about how soybeans and soybean meal and oil are used.”