Search for healthy oil seeds
By Nancy Jorgensen

How will America’s focus on health change the way you farm?

When Terry Ecker plants soybeans this spring, he’ll be thinking about how much things have changed since his great-great-great grandfather first plowed the family farm in northeastern Missouri. And, by next spring, things may change even more—he may plant a new seed variety that results in healthier edible oil, along with higher prices for the grower. Things are changing fast in the homegrown health benefits market, and U.S. soybean growers won’t be left behind.

“The American farmer will produce what the consumer wants,” said Ecker, who raises beans, corn and cattle near Maryville. “As new products become available, we will change to meet those demands.”

For decades, manufacturers hydrogenated about half of all soybean oil, whipping in hydrogen to create products like shortening and margarine. Hydrogenation increases consistency and shelf life but also results in trans fat, an ingredient that raises cholesterol and heart-health concerns.

Last year, when new federal rules required disclosure of trans fats on food labels, processors scrambled to eliminate it from their products. Kellogg’s recently announced it will no longer use trans fats, and the push moved beyond supermarkets to food service when Kentucky Fried Chicken followed suit. Meanwhile, in New York City, some food activists argue for a total ban.

As a member of the United Soybean Board executive committee, Ecker takes a special interest in consumer attitudes. USB devotes about $40 million a year nationally to soybean promotion and research.

Every U.S. soybean farmer contributes 0.5 percent of each bushel’s sale price to the check-off program. Half of that amount goes to USB, and the balance to state organizations such as the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.

Over the past 6 years, researchers have explored new soybean varieties with low-linolenic acid, a trait that increases oil’s shelf life without the need for hydrogenation.

“We had a vision that we’d need to change soybean oil to stay competitive,” said Ecker. “We built it hoping they would come. Now we need to catch up with the demand. If we didn’t have a head start, we’d be way behind.”

Coming soon to Missouri—the “Show Me” state
Despite promising research developments, it takes more than just scientific research to change an industry. Dale Ludwig is executive director/CEO of the Missouri Soybean Association in Jefferson City. As he tells it, leaders first had to convince seed breeders to invest in new low-lin varieties, and then convince farmers to try them. “Food service buyers make their decisions overnight, but it takes farmers at least a growing season to produce a new crop.”

Last year, most low-lin varieties sprouted up in Iowa and other states where more soybeans are grown. But new breeds are coming soon to a farm near you, designed to thrive in more southern climates without sacrificing yield. Yield drag can be a problem with any new variety bred for special traits.

Once you obtain seeds suited for your area, you’ll want to contract with a processor or elevator that handles the special crop. Currently, according to Qualisoy, 20 such facilities operate in the United States.

Across Missouri and surrounding states, MFA’s stores and affiliates sell Vistive low-lin seed varieties bred by Monsanto. But Brian Anderson, production and marketing specialist for MFA in Columbia, Mo., reports few sales so far. Most Missouri elevators and processors aren’t ready to handle the harvest. Bunge recently announced it will accept low-lin at its LaGrange facility in Missouri’s northeastern corner.

If you grow Vistive or similar varieties, you can earn premiums of about 60 cents per bushel (in the current market climate). Breeders offer premiums to compensate farmers for the expense involved in identity preservation—keeping the seed and the harvested crop separate from other varieties and transporting it to special processing facilities.

Transportation costs can be a big issue, especially in times of high fuel prices. “As premiums rise, farmers will be willing to do the extra work,” Ecker predicts, noting that premiums jumped this year over last.

Walter Fehr, a researcher at the Office of Biotechnology at Iowa State in Ames, has developed several low-lin varieties.

He predicts that in 2007, growers will produce about 2 million acres of low linolenic soybeans. Geri Berdack, director of public affairs for Monsanto in St. Louis, added that Monsanto hopes 1.5 million of those acres will be sown with Vistive beans. That’s compared to a total of 3.19 billion total soybean bushels produced in the U.S. in 2006.

Some believe low-lin oil could reach 15 percent of the total cooking oil market. Demand already outstrips supply, according to Steve Poole, a spokesman for Qualisoy, a USB subsidiary devoted to developing healthier soybeans and oil, among other goals. “We anticipate about 900 million pounds of low-lin soy oil in the marketplace next year,” he said. “This is about 50 percent of current demand.”

Fasten your seatbelt
Kristin Bilyeu, a molecular biologist at the University of Missouri in Columbia, researches ways to make soybean plants with low-lin and other special traits more efficient. Her paycheck comes from the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As she explained, fully saturated fats, found in many animal fats and tropical oils, pose the worst health risk—they include more hydrogen. Polyunsaturated fats fall in the middle. Monounsaturated fats carry the lowest health risks, but don’t always taste good when heated. Many products, like butter, contain all three types of fat. Low-lin oil falls in the healthier categories.

Bilyeu found that the first paper on low-linolenic soybeans was written in 1985, when researchers discovered a soybean mutation that resulted in a 4 percent linolenic acid content, compared to conventional soy oil’s rate of more than 6 percent. Similar mutations came along later. “The industry wants 3 percent or below,” Bilyeu said. “We can now get as low as 1 percent.”

As Qualisoy’s Poole pointed out, low-lin oil is only part of the answer to the trans fat issue. “Low-lin works fine for commercial frying applications, but the baking industry needs a different kind of oil,” he said. “Other oils in the healthy solutions pipeline include an Omega 3 soy oil and a low saturated-fat soy oil for heart health.”

Bilyeu predicted that Missouri can produce low-lin varieties on a par with other states in 4 to 5 years. “But can we attract closer processing plants?” she wondered. “That will take coordination that hasn’t been necessary in the past.” She holds out hope that farmers can boost profitability by growing a healthier bean.

Good for consumer health and grower profitability
Research shows that consumers already associate soybeans with health, although few realize that soy resides in many of the products they buy in the grocery store.

Soy has been found to combat menopausal symptoms. Sales of soymilk continue to boom. Edamame, a newly popular green soybean available both fresh and frozen, flies off the grocery shelves.

“Edamame has done a lot for the image of soybeans,” Ludwig said, “but it’s not coming to the average Missouri farm anytime soon.” He suspects that few Missouri soybean farmers will adopt the intense management style required to grow such specialty crops. Capturing health benefits in more mainstream soybeans like low-lin varieties holds more hope for the average farmer.

Traditionally, more soybeans go toward animal feed, with human consumption coming in second, followed by biodiesel production. “For the last 75 years, we’ve pretty much grown soybeans for protein, with oil as a byproduct,” Ludwig said. “In the future, we’ll spend more time increasing the percentage of oil in soybeans while maintaining the level of protein. That’s easier said than done, but that’s why we research.”

Until now, the industry has zeroed in on input traits that allowed farmers to cut back on herbicides or insecticides. “In the future, we will focus on output traits, and that’s where the real health benefits will come from,” Ludwig said, adding that the path will probably involve both natural selection and biotechnology.

The vegetable industry leads the way in capitalizing on America’s search for healthier options. Researchers are developing a broccoli with cancer-fighting traits and tomatoes with enhanced levels of lycopene, an antioxidant.

“Identifying compounds that battle metabolic diseases such as cancer and heart disease will be the next frontier for soybean research,” Ludwig said. “It will take time, but we’re moving down that path.”

Ecker concurs. “As consumers become more health conscious, soy will benefit,” he concluded.

Soybeans remain Missouri’s top crop
Soybeans remain Missouri’s No. 1 crop, generating more revenue than all other crops combined, according to Dale Ludwig, executive director/CEO of the Missouri Soybean Association.

Despite growing demand for corn for ethanol production, “Soybeans are not in danger of losing their No. 1 status,” Ludwig said. He estimates that Missouri will see a 4 to 5 percent drop in soybean production at most in the coming growing year.

“Soybeans fit into our climate and soil quite well,” he added, explaining that soybeans can survive dry spells common to the state’s growing season. In addition, rotating corn with soybeans helps break the cycle of insects and disease.

At press time, the May futures price for soybeans ran at $7.85 a bushel, up $2 from a year ago. Soy oil prices show a similar spike. “The soybean grower will have an excellent year,” Ludwig predicted.

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