USSEC Statement of Sustainability

As defined by the U.S. Congress in the 1990 “Farm Bill,” sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and/or animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:

  • Satisfy human food and fiber needs
  • Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends
  • Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
  • Sustain the economic viability of farm operations
  • Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.
  • Remain economically viable, because without profitability, it is not sustainable

The U.S. Soybean Export Council and its predecessors (the American Soybean Association, International Marketing) have a longstanding history assisting U.S. soybean farmers in production practices that are sustainable as defined by Congress. In 1998, ASA and USDA published the book entitled “Soybean Management and the Land: A Best Management Practices Handbook for Growers,” which promoted the adoption of conservation tillage practices.

These practices have dramatically increased with the introduction of biotech soybean seeds, thus allowing farmers to greatly expand the practice of no-till production. As a direct result, U.S. soybean farmers are seeing decreased soil erosion, increased amounts of carbon-into-soil absorption rates, thereby decreasing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

U.S. farmers have long been and will continue to be leaders in protecting our natural resources and the environment, while producing an abundant food supply for distribution in the United States and throughout the world. The U.S. Soybean Export Council supports sustainable agriculture and will continue its close relations with U.S. soybean farmers so they may remain at the forefront in practicing sustainable soybean production methods.