Throughout grocery store aisles, shoppers find many soy-based choices to complete a nutritious diet. In April, Soyfoods Month, U.S. soybean farmers want to highlight the benefits of soy products and their availability in products that may not come to mind.

Jim Stillman, a soybean farmer from Emmetsburg, Iowa, and current vice chair for the United Soybean Board and soy checkoff, says he uses soy in his kitchen.

“Baking cookies or brownies, I use soy flour and soy oil,” says Stillman. “It’s just a matter of what you get used to, and I use soymilk in my cooking. I use everything I can that’s soy.”

Soy remains a popular choice for consumers looking for vegetable protein. But Stillman says you don’t have to replace meat in your diet to use soy. Soy can be used with meat instead of replacing it.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a claim that says 25 grams of soy protein a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Stillman notes soy products provide a variety of choices to reach that goal.

“You take 25 grams of protein a day from soy protein, and you can get that in many forms: through milk, flour or even tofu,” adds Stillman. “That small amount makes a healthier, more beneficial meal and adds protein to anything you cook.”

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy’s customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.