BIODIESEL Made from soybean oil, biodiesel reduces harmful greenhouse gases while also delivering high-quality performance. Compared with regular diesel fuel, biodiesel has significantly fewer emissions of particulate matter and other harmful pollutants. In fact, biodiesel is labeled a Clean Air Choice by the American Lung Association. In FY21, the Illinois Soybean Association deployed an integrated marketing plan to drive awareness with Illinois farmers for the equipment performance, financial, and environmental benefits of biodiesel use on their farms. Communications included digital and physical collateral distribution, paid print and digital support, billboards and presence at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, IL. Custom vehicle wraps on a grain semi and fuel truck also helped spread the word on the benefits at a grassroots level. Fleets across Illinois depend on biodiesel for more sustainable operation. Members of the B20 Club, a partnership between the Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program and the American Lung Association, are leaders in using B20 biodiesel to operate more efficiently, improve air quality, and reduce their carbon footprints – all important benefits to their local communities. In FY21, B20 Club members eliminated 12,059 tons of carbon and equivalents (CO2e) and accounted for $900,575 in estimated health benefits to Illinois residents. Since its founding in 2015, B20 Club has eliminated 111,663 tons of carbon and equivalents (CO2e) and accounted for $20.9 million in estimated health benefits to Illinois residents. Funded by the Illinois Soybean Checkoff ISA provided a winter fueling report to B20 Club members highlighting the pricing and availability of biodiesel at Illinois fuel terminals and included results of cold flow studies showing that B20 with additives will perform as well as diesel in winter. ISA also provided technical assistance to B20 Club fleets regarding fuel quality, fuel infrastructure and vehicle maintenance. ISA also executed an urban biodiesel campaign during FY21, which included a variety of educational communication touchpoints leveraging the creative concept “Small Shift, Big Impact.” Campaign elements included educational mailers to key Illinois stakeholders, paid media (digital and traditional), biodiesel landing page (smallshiftbigimpact.com), produced biodiesel 101 video, in person educational events and event collateral (gift bags with campaign items, event signage). Soil and Water Outcomes Fund In fiscal year 21, the Illinois Soybean Association partnered with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund to catalyze farmer adoption of conservation practices that generate verifiable carbon reductions and water quality improvements. The program expanded into Illinois starting in Bureau, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, and Will counties, targeting 20,000 acres of new conservation practice adoption. This partnership is a component of ISA’s efforts to scale sustainable agriculture practices in a farmer-centric and outcomes-driven manner, and helps ISA demonstrate the value of sustainability to Illinois soybean farmers. The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund provides financial incentives directly to farmers who transition to on-farm conservation practices such as no till and cover crops that yield outcomes like carbon sequestration and water quality improvement. The environmental outcomes are verified using a combination of environmental modeling, in-field monitoring, and remote sensing. The water quality and carbon sequestration outcomes produced by farmers in Illinois are being purchased by a mix of public and private partners.
