Expanding soybean markets and improving the environment can come in small packages. Soybean farmers continue to pursue any opportunity to diversify markets for soybeans and soy products while meeting the growing imperative for environmental sustainability. A recent partnership between the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) and trucking companies highlights how both objectives can be simultaneously advanced.
The STC conducted a promotional initiative in which it provided free samples of soy-based fifth wheel lubrication pads to trucking companies and farmers throughout the country. The pads are produced by Gear Head Lube (https://gearheadlube.com/), a Cedar Falls, Iowa, based manufacturer of environmentally sustainable lubricants.
“These products have been in existence for a number of years but given the STC’s extensive relationships within the transportation sector, we concluded we could play a meaningful role in increasing the awareness and the utilization of these soy-based fifth wheel lube pads,” explains Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. “Unfortunately, there can often be a significant delay between the development of an innovative and effective product and the widespread utilization of it. The STC’s goal of this project has been to increase awareness and the motivation to use these soy-based fifth wheel lube pads so that the benefits can be more accelerated.”
The square-shaped soy-based fifth wheel pads are three by three inches in size and a half inch thick. Application involves simply placing a pad by hand at both the nine and three o’clock positions on the fifth wheel. After the trailer is hooked up, the grease from the pads is evenly distributed around the fifth wheel with no mess. The pads, comprised of over 80% U.S. soy, are listed on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Certified Biobased Product program.
“Farmers are always looking for opportunities to use products derived from the soybeans we grow,” says Chris Brossart, a soybean farmer from Wolford, North Dakota, and chairman of the North Dakota Soybean Council and the Soy Transportation Coalition. “I have utilized the soy-based fifth wheel lube pads on the trucks at our family farming operation. They are incredibly easy to use and are very effective. Finally, they are a great example of how soy-products continue to provide sustainable solutions for our environment.”
STC news release
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