COVER STORY: Millions of dollars have been spent to combat the most damaging soybean pathogen in North America. The defense discovered decades ago is beginning to falter and researchers are concerned about the challenges ahead. As a consequence, nearly 40 university, checkoff and private scientists and growers gathered in mid-December to share management information and discuss the development of the second Soybean Cyst Nematode Coalition. See Page 14
ATodd Hesterman
Ohio Soybean Association Chairman
Henry County soybean farmer
A Letter From the Chairman
s planting approaches, I always try and remember the possibilities and impact that soybeans have on not only a local level, but also a global perspective. 2017 was a great year for international exports. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. soybean farmers exported a record 2.6 billion bushels of U.S. soy and soy products, valued at over $28 billion. It marked the second year in a row that exports exceeded 60 percent of U.S. soybean production. With rising exports, U.S. soybean farmers can differentiate ourselves in the marketplace by making improvements to meal and oil.
On the policy front, a leading priority for the Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) has been to monitor legislation at the Statehouse. The water quality discussion is ongoing, and we’ll continue to work on the behalf of Ohio’s soybean farmers for meaningful and research-based policies. At a federal level, we strongly support the work of the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, and look to Secretary Perdue to help identify areas in which the federal government can lessen regulatory burdens on farmers.
Also, here’s your friendly reminder – if you haven’t done so already, make sure to renew your OSA membership. Unsure if your membership has expired? Call the OSA office at 614-476-3100 and they’d be happy to check your status. Don’t miss out on the great benefits from OSA and American Soybean Association. If you want to hear straight from the horse’s mouth just how great the OSA member benefits are, just ask James Rogers of Ontario, Ohio! He was the lucky winner of our drawing to win 50 hours with a Challenger MT500 tractor, thanks to Ohio Ag Equipment. This will be available again in 2018 to a new or renewing OSA member, so sign up today! Your membership is your voice at the Ohio Statehouse and U.S. Capitol.
Hope you have a successful and safe planting season.
Sincerely,
Todd Hesterman
Ohio Soybean Association Chairman Henry County
soybean farmer
President
Allen Armstrong, Clark County
First Vice President
Scott Metzger, Ross County
Vice President
Ryan Rhoades, Marion County
Treasurer
Kerrick Wilson, Preble County
Secretary
Jennifer Wilson-Oechsle, Van Wert County
Chairman
Todd Hesterman
Trustees
Jerry Bambauer, Auglaize County
Trish Cunningham, Knox County
Bret Davis, Delaware County
Adam Graham, Logan County
Caitlyn Heimerl, Industry Affiliate Ex-Officio
Patrick Knouff, Shelby County
Jeff Magyar, Ashtabula County
Jeff McKanna, Hancock County
Cindy Parker, Miami County
Derek Reusser, Holmes County
Jeff Roehm, Highland County
Luke Ryan, Lucas County
Andy Stickel, Wood County
American Soybean Association
Board Representatives
Jerry Bambauer
Bret Davis
Scott Metzger
Staff Credits
Kirk Merritt-Publisher
Jennifer Coleman-Editor
Katie Bauer-Contributing Editor/Staff Writer
Kayla Weaver-Contributing Writer
Donovan Harris-Design Director
Brent Warren-Senior Designer
Barry Falkner-Photo Quality/Proofer
Tony Green-Advertising Production
Ohio Soybean news is published six times a year by the Ohio Soybean Association, 918 Proprietors Rd., Suite A, Worthington, OH 43085. Phone: 614-476-3100. For address corrections contact Ohio Soybean News at 918 Proprietors Rd., Suite A, Worthington, OH 43085.
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Building
Meet Todd Hesterman, OSA Chairman
Todd Hesterman of Henry County farms nearly 1,000 acres of soybeans, corn and wheat, and is Chairman of the Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) Board of Trustees. Todd previously served as OSA President and Treasurer. He earned a B.S. from The Ohio State University in Agronomy and holds a Certified Crop Advisor designation.
QHow did you first get involved with OSA?
AI was recommended to an OSA board position by a Certified Crop Advisor from my area and was personally asked if I would serve. I looked into the duties and commitment it would take and decided it was time to do my part and be a voice for agriculture.
Q What is your hometown?
AI grew up in Napoleon, OH in Henry County.
Q What might someone be surprised to know about you?
AI married my high school sweetheart. We started dating when I was a junior and she was a sophomore in high school.
QWhat have you gained from being a part of OSA?
AI have gained so much just from the networking I have had with fellow farmers that serve, and have served, on the OSA board. I also have a greater appreciation for the work the association does, and have done, for agriculture. I have learned that agriculture needs to be more open about our industry and interact with the general public whenever the opportunity presents itself. There is such a misunderstanding on what we do
and how environmentally responsible our industry really is.
Q
What has been the most important innovation you have witnessed in your lifetime?
A In my lifetime, I think the most important innovation is computers. Emerging technologies created a need for better computers and as computers got better, technology progressed exponentially. It is kind of a chicken and egg question. In agriculture, our seeds are still planted into the soil by very similar methods, and the same with harvesting, but the technology contained on present equipment has made farmers more productive than ever. u
The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) and soybean checkoff are working with scientists at The Ohio State University and Extension to find new and better ways to manage insects, diseases, weeds, nutrients and water quality all while maintaining your profitability. It can be challenging, however, to stay on top of everything. Soybean Rewards is a program developed by OSC to help keep the flow of information between farmers and researchers moving. To see how, visit soybeanrewards.org.
Brought to you by Ohio soybean farmers and their checkoff.
What’s Next for the Farm Bill?
The Farm Bill is a multi-year law that encompasses many different parts of agricultural and food programs. Agricultural policies can be created by stand alone legislation or as part of other laws, but the Farm Bill is legislation is renewed about every 5 years. This gives policymakers an opportunity to comprehensively review agricultural and food issues all at once. Farm Bills typically focus on staple commodities, nutrition assistance, and conservation, just to name a few. The most recent Farm Bill, known as the Agricultural Act of 2014, expires in this year. Though its passage took longer than many expected, it reshaped the structure of farm-commodity support, expanded crop-insurance coverage, consolidated conservation programs, reauthorized and revised nutrition assistance, and extended the authority to appropriate funds for many U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the total
cost of programs, under that bill, would be approximately $489 billion over its five-year lifespan. The largest portion of spending was the nutrition title, making up 80 percent of the total cost.
▶ Commodities, Conservation, & Trade
Farming can be a risky business — market conditions can change between planning and harvesting, weather is unpredictable, and pests can take out an entire field. Because of this, the US government created policies and programs to help lower the risk to farmers, while helping provide a safety net for the farm sector. This kind of farm support is covered under Title 1 of the 2014 Farm Bill and provided through commodity subsidies, which are government payments to producers of commodity crop such as wheat, corn, cotton, rice, and soybeans.
In 2014, Congress replaced direct payments with counter-cyclical programs
that only provide payments when prices or revenue fall below established levels. Producers now choose between two programs, Price Loss Coverage (PLC) or Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC). Modifications to these two programs could be up for discussion for the next Farm Bill.
“Changes to these programs have been brought forth in the committee process, but we need to look very closely at the proposals before we can decide to support them,” said Bret Davis, OSA board member who also serves as Chairman of the ASA Farm Bill Task Force.
The conservation title of the Farm Bill, Title 2, contains 20 programs to encourage environmental stewardship and improved best management practices. Some of the well-known programs under this title are the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). While CRP is a cropland retirement program that provides incentives to shift some lands to long-term conservation, EQIP is a cost-sharing and incentives program that provides financial and technical assistance for eligible farmers to adopt environmentally sound farming practices, including the management of wastewater and conservation of water, soil, and habitats. Conservation programs in the 2014 Farm Bill were about 6 percent of the total budget and the combined spending totals for CRP and EQIP is about $3 billion annually.
As one world’s largest exporter of agricultural goods, trade is extremely important to Ohio’s farmers. In Ohio, soybeans are the sixth largest export category, with more than $2 billion in 2016. Davis affirms that trade will be one of the top priorities for ASA around the Farm Bill, especially concerning increased funding of the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development program (FMD). Both programs help promote the development of international agriculture markets.
“These programs have been good for soybean farmers and we must work to protect them,” said Davis.
▶ The Year Ahead
The 2018 Farm Bill is expected to be written with broad, bipartisan support and experts predict it will look similar to the current Farm Bill in many ways. However, this year presents the additional political challenge of getting it through the House and Senate during an election year. With all the House and a third of
the Senate up for re-election, timing could be a challenge. The shortened session schedule, combined with candidates returning to their home districts to campaign, leaves little time to get things accomplished.
Challenges or not, OSA and ASA are communicating to Congress that a comprehensive Farm Bill by the end of 2018 is critical to the profitability of U.S. farmers. OSA representatives have met with and attended several listening sessions hosted by members
of Congress, such as Senator Sherrod Brown, Representative Bob Gibbs, and Representative Steve Stivers. OSA and ASA will continue to play an active role in the process, representing U.S. soybean farmers’ best interests.
“Make sure your Congressman and Senators know how important trade is to our industries. The ability to export is important to us and we need good trade policies to do it,” added Davis. u
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DRIVING DEMAND PAYS DIVIDENDS EVERY DAY.
The Ohio Soybean Council is always looking for new ways to create demand for Ohio soybeans. In 2017, that meant collaborating with domestic and international partners on many exciting projects, including an all-natural, soy-based shingle rejuvenator that is spray applied to aging roofs, an innovative soybean meal that could revolutionize how fish are farmed and partnerships with the Ohio Pork Council, the United States Meat Export Federation and the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council to increase demand for pork and poultry across our state and around the world.
Check out how checkoff dollars are working for Ohio soybean farmers anytime at SoyOhio.org.
CREATING A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR AMERICA’S SOYBEAN FARMERS
How
the soy checkoff invests to grow profit opportunities for U.S. soybeans
Legendary Nebraska investor Warren Buffet famously touted the importance of “making money while you sleep.” Over the years, your checkoff investment has been striving to do just that for you, by investing in growing U.S. soy’s value and volume. As a farmer, you have plenty to think about year-round to make sure your operation runs smoothly, maintains profitability, and meets the needs of your many customers. While you are busy caring for the land and feeding the world, your checkoff dollars work in many ways, in many different places – some you may be aware of but may not have known your checkoff helped make possible.
Sure, you’ve heard of biodiesel, you may even use it on your farm, but you may not know your checkoff dollars, working at the state level, gave birth to the industry. With continued checkoff support, biodiesel has seen mass acceptance and U.S. soybean farmers have seen increased profits. According to the National Biodiesel Board, demand for biodiesel increases the value of soybean oil – adding 63 cents per bushel of the whole beans sold.
Another success story, the development of high oleic soybean oil, shows how the industry can produce new soybean varieties the market demands. Created by the checkoff, QUALISOY brings together members of the soy value chain including seed companies, processors and food companies. Having stakeholders at one table enables open dialogue and a clear path forward for future oil and meal innovation that will benefit the entire U.S. soybean industry.
Planning a trip abroad in the future? Your soy checkoff dollars are there too – through the U.S. Soybean Export Council or USSEC – which works to increase demand for U.S. soy in more than 80 countries around the globe. Through USSEC the checkoff works with the American Soybean Association to represent U.S. soybean farmers across the globe. From representing U.S. soy in market access issues to demonstrating U.S. soy’s functionality and value, the checkoff is working to keep export markets growing. These efforts are paying off. Soy exports generated more than $24 billion of revenue for the
U.S. last year, with more than 60 percent of the U.S. crop being exported.
Many consumers in the U.S. simply don’t know where their food comes from – maybe you have even fielded questions about what you do from curious city dwellers. The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) works to engage in dialogue with consumers who have questions about how today’s food is grown and raised. The checkoff is one of 100 organizations working with USFRA, which, among other things, produced Farmland, a documentary to connect producers and consumers of food. The soy checkoff’s investments with USFRA work to influence food companies and the decisions they make around modern production practices.
These are just a few ways your checkoff dollars get put to use for the ultimate benefit of the U.S. soybean farmer’s profitability. To find out more about the United Soybean Board and soybean checkoff, visit unitedsoybean.org.
Passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 was recently passed by Congress. This paves the way for a fiscal year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill to be completed in March, addresses the approaching debt ceiling, provides disaster assistance, including for agriculture, and extends the biodiesel tax credit retroactively for 2017.
Provisions of the agreement that impact agriculture include fixes for both the cotton and dairy programs in the current farm bill. For cotton, the deal established a seed cotton program, which the American Soybean Association (ASA) supported in communications to Congress and both the Trump and Obama Administrations over the past two years. For dairy, funding allotted to fix the Margin Protection Program will reduce pressure on the
Congressional Budget Office baseline when Congress writes the 2018 Farm Bill. Achieving both fixes now rather than delaying the spending bill until late March allows the House and Senate Ag Committees to move forward before Easter, improving chances of finishing the farm bill on time.
Shifting gears to biodiesel, the funding package includes a one-year extension of the biodiesel tax credit, retroactive to 2017. While that is not the multi-year extension that ASA supports and has advocated, and while it does not provide certainty for the industry in 2018, it is a positive step for the credit to be reinstated retroactively.
ASA appreciates the work of our biofuels advocates in the House and Senate, particularly Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who pushed hard for a multi-year
extension of the credit. We share his frustration that we were unable to secure the incentive for 2018, but applaud his continued leadership and the support of all our friends in both chambers. u
10 Production Practices That Boost Sustainability
U.S. soybean farmers are committed to continuous improvement — making sure the land they farm now is prosperous for years to come. Sustainability is a year-round effort; start your sustainability journey with these 10 sustainable practices.
▶ SPRING
1Rotate crops to increase biodiversity, control pests, prevent disease resistance, replace vital nutrients back into the soil and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.
2Preserve the soil's nutrients, increase organic matter and reduce runoff, soil erosion, labor, fuel use and equipment wear with reduced-tillage methods.
3Use biodiesel, one of the leading carbon-reduction strategies available with today's vehicle technologies, in your diesel equipment.
▶ SUMMER
4Use irrigation-scheduling tools, such as soil-moisture sensors, to improve water-use efficiency.
5Use chemical intervention as needed when managing pests. When chemicals are necessary to eliminate the problem, carefully determine proper timing and spray coverage to limit pest resistance, runoff and residues.
▶ FALL
6Frequently test soils, maintain nutrient-management plans, know recommended nutrient levels and apply adequate nutrients as needed.
7Research seed selection. Seeds enhanced by biotechnology allow farmers to reduce tillage and make fewer trips through the field in a tractor.
▶ WINTER
8Explore new precision-farming technologies to increase sustainability, such as GPS and computer monitors to use in tractors, sprayers and combines to track yield and inputs.
9Preserve water and improve biodiversity with environmental practices like buffer strips, filter strips, waterways, tiling and terraces.
10 Keep detailed records of all your farming practices, including planted acreage, annual yield for each field, all inputs for each field and proper calibration levels for all planting equipment. u
CREATING A FUTURE WORTH GROWING
From the first sale of U.S. soy to China to the release of the first soybean oil-based tire, the soy checkoff has been behind the scenes, growing new opportunities and customers for the soybeans you produce. We’re looking inside the bean, beyond the bushel and around the world to keep preference for U.S. soy strong. And for U.S. soybean farmers like you, the impact is invaluable.
See more ways the soy checkoff brings value to farmers at unitedsoybean.org
Better for the economy. Everybody. the Environment.
Made from a combination of soybean oil, recycled cooking oil and animal fats, biodiesel is the only EPA-designated advanced biofuel in commercial production nationwide. It’s also the first to reach one billion gallons of production annually. More importantly, it can be safely used in most diesel engines less than 15 years old without modification. Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable and safe to handle too.
The biodiesel industry supports 64,000 jobs nationwide.
The economic benefits translate to dollars and cents.
The soy-based biodiesel industry does more than just keep energy dollars in this country. Approximately half of U.S. biodiesel is made from soybean oil. U.S. production of biodiesel increases the demand for and the value of U.S. soybeans by 11 cents per pound, or an extra 63 cents per bushel of soybeans.
Biodiesel fuels U.S. jobs and development opportunities, not to mention demand for soybeans. And when crops used to produce biodiesel are grown in the same country where the fuel is consumed, each gallon of biodiesel reduces our dependence on imported crude oil by a gallon. That’s just a couple of ways responsible, renewable biodiesel benefits our nation, our state, and our families and friends. soybeans are:
80 percent meal
20 percent oil
The environmental benefits make common
sense. {
Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions from 57 to 86 percent according to the EPA. Biodiesel also significantly reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons and sulfates compared to traditional petroleum diesel fuel. A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy found that biodiesel reduces net carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 79 percent.
How are other states supporting biodiesel?
Ohio isn’t the only state to identify biodiesel as an environmental and economic opportunity. States including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have implemented laws and incentives to promote the demand for soy-based biodiesel. Those laws and incentives include:
Education and promotion
Price preferences
Required state usage
Alternative fuel taxes and tax exemptions
Development grants
Biodiesel is a smart choice every season of the year.
Did you know that you can use up to a 20 percent blend of biodiesel year-round, in even the coldest of climates? Biodiesel will gel in cold weather, just like regular diesel fuel. But B20 can be treated for winter use, in similar ways that No. 2 diesel is treated.
no. 1
SOYBEANS ARE OHIO’S NUMBER ONE CASH CROP
4.8 M ACRES HARVESTED ANNUALLY
24 K
ROUGHLY 24,000 OHIO SOYBEAN FARMERS
Where can you find biodiesel?
You can choose biodiesel at the pump at a number of retail locations across Ohio. Find a location near you at soybiodiesel.org.
Ohio Soybean Council Receives R&D 100 Gold Special Recognition Award
Award honors development of EnzoMeal™ sustainable food source for farm-raised fish
The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) has received an R&D 100 Special Recognition Award for developing EnzoMeal™, an effective and sustainable food source for farmraised fish. The 2017 Gold Special Recognition Award — the highest level of this prestigious award for invention and innovation — was presented in the Corporate Social Responsibility category. OSC was among the 100 winners announced November 17 during a black-tie awards ceremony in Orlando, Florida.
An advanced soybean-based fish feed, EnzoMeal addresses a key impediment to widespread expansion of aquaculture (“fish farming”), the fastest-growing sector of food production. Standard fish meal’s primary ingredients — wild fish and shrimp — are rapidly dwindling resources. However, conventional soybean meal, when used at high levels in producing fish feed, contains carbohydrates that fish cannot easily digest. OSC and its research partner, Battelle, developed a technology that removes nondigestible carbohydrates and increases crude proteins in the soybean meal, resolving the challenges that to date have limited a high level of soybean use as a substitute fish feed protein.
“OSC is honored to receive the R&D 100 award,” said Nathan Eckel, Ohio soybean farmer and chair of the OSC Research Committee. “But we are particularly proud to have contributed to profitable and sustainable fish farming, presenting an opportunity to meet the escalating global demand for food.”
The Gold Award is the eighth R&D 100 Award presented to OSC since 2002.
For more information about this technology, OSC’s role in its development, and/or licensing, please contact Mr. Barry McGraw, Director,
Interested in Podcasts?
The United Soybean Board provides Points with Polly, a forum to provide soybean checkoff insights and updates, as well as answer your questions. Please send your questions, comments or feedback to usbceo@unitedsoybean.org .
Visit https://unitedsoybean.org/podcasts to listen today!
“We are particularly proud to have contributed to profitable and sustainable fish farming, presenting an opportunity to meet the escalating global demand for food.”
– Nathan Eckel
Ohio Soybean Council (bmcgraw@ soyohio.org), or Dr. Bhima Vijayendran, Redwood Innovations (bhima@ redwdinnov.com). u
Investing Checkoff Dollars
Ohio Soybean Farmers to Take Students on Virtual Field Trips
Starting this spring, students who have never had a chance to investigate a soybean field, will get a chance to do it — all without having to leave the comfort of their own classroom.
With just an internet-connected computer, webcam and microphone, students of all ages can participate in a Virtual Field Trip to an Ohio soybean farm and ride along with a farmer during planting and harvesting. They can see what it takes to produce one of Ohio’s most abundant and versatile crops.
Using live video conferencing technology, these one-of-a-kind virtual field trips allow students to interact and have real conversations with soybean farmers while the farmer is actually working in the field.
“These new trips help students learn more about soybean production: how they are planted, how they grow, what benefits they provide, and the challenges Ohio soybean farmers face and the decisions they must make,” said Tom Fontana, OSC’s director of research and education. “Classrooms participating in the program will enjoy a memorable, engaging and fun learning experience that will bring students closer to a soybean farm than ever before.”
Spring virtual field trips will focus on planting, with farmers slated to host live conversations with students from
equipment in the fields. Elementary students will learn the basics of planting, germination and life cycles, while conversations with middle and high school students will focus on GMOs, soil health and precision agriculture.
Fall virtual field trips will focus on harvesting. Elementary students will learn about combines, equipment and the storage and transportation of soybeans. Middle school and high school students will learn about global trade, nutrient management and water quality.
The virtual field trips are tailored to specific grade levels, with special attention toward helping teachers meet Ohio education standards.
A classroom at Global Impact STEM Academy connected with a beef farmer in the fall for a virtual field trip. Students can now have the same experience with Ohio soybean farmers.
PHOTO: SPRINGFIELD NEWS-SUN
“I am excited about the opportunity to participate in these virtual field trips,” said Allen Armstrong, a Clark County soybean farmer volunteering to host virtual field trips through the program. “This is a chance to help Ohio students better understand agriculture.”
Scott Metzger, a Ross County soybean farmer and Ohio Soybean Council board member, will also host virtual trips to his farm. The two farmers will give students an inside look at modern agriculture and answer their questions during live question-and-answer sessions.
“With budgets and safety concerns curtailing field trips at many schools, this project allows us to bring an increasingly rare form of education to a broad spectrum of students across the state,” Fontana said. “Students will have a chance to ask real questions and get real answers from an Ohio farmer.”
The virtual field trips are part of a larger effort to educate both teachers and students about modern agriculture. Ohio Soybean Council’s education website, GrowNextGen. org has classroom curriculum, e-learning courses and career videos — all designed to educate the “next generation” of consumers and generate interest in agriculture careers.
For more information, or to register for a Virtual Field Trip to an Ohio Soybean Farm, visit GrowNextGen.org, or contact Tom Fontana at tfontana@soyohio.org or 614-476-3100. u
A Virtual Farm Trip program has connected students directly with pork and cattle farms throughout the country since 2015, and now with Ohio soybean farms starting this spring.
Soy Colorant Has Many Potential Benefits For Food Industry
Consumers in America have been taking more notice of their food and what is in it; seeking less processed products and more natural ingredients. One particular area of concern within synthetic ingredients includes artificial food dyes which give some fast food items, boxed mixes or other process foods like cereal bright or iconic colors.
As major restaurant chains and food companies scramble to follow customer demand, researchers are looking for diverse ways to incorporate natural colorants. While a variety of colors can easily be found in fruits and vegetables, the naturally occurring pigments are often unstable and lack the vivid shades of common artificial dyes.
At The Ohio State University, Ph.D. student, Peipei Tang, is working on a solution that may not only replace artificial colors but provide added health benefits to products that include the colorant. The target is anthocyanin, a natural pigment widely found in plants, that while great for use in food products comes with its own set of challenges. The solution looks
to come in the form of soybeans.
“Implementation of anthocyanin is currently a challenge because of high cost and its poor stability. The color of anthocyanin will fade over time with sensitivities to light, heat, and other factors it encounters in food production,” said Tang. “We are looking for alternative ways to make the color more intense and longer lasting.”
Tang is a previous recipient of an Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) Scholarship which gave him the opportunity to meet with OSC staff and propose this idea for funding.
Tang is a previous recipient of an Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) Scholarship which gave him the opportunity to meet with OSC staff and propose this idea for funding.
The solution he is focused on incorporates isoflavones extracted from soybeans which have already been
Soy solutions may not only replace artificial colors but provide added health benefits to products that include the colorant.
shown to have many health benefits but are not currently widely consumed in the American diet. Although soybean production is increasing, consumption of soy in America is very low compared to other countries, such as Asia. While soy is not widely consumed, some people have begun taking supplements to get the benefits of the isoflavones.
“We are hoping to incorporate those healthy ingredients into our food without trying to change eating habits. We have found that we can extract isoflavones from soybeans and create a companion to stabilize and intensify the anthocyanin pigments,” said Tang.
Research has already determined the important structure and factors that will influence the mixture of the two ingredients and the next stage will focus on real world application in food products. Tang indicated they will likely start with fruit juice and baking products to test the anthocyanin.
Globally, the natural food colors market is steadily growing and is estimated to reach $1.57 billion by 2019, increasing at approximately twice the rate of the synthetic food colors market. OSC is excited to support research that positions soybeans to be a part of the growing trend for healthy options in our food system.
Another added benefit to the soy industry is the opportunity to use soybean curd residue for isoflavone extraction. Currently, soybean curd residue — a byproduct of soymilk and tofu production — is largely discarded and an alternative use provides additional value while being more environmentally friendly. u
Investing
Top Six Soybean-planting Tips
Start the planting season off strong by checking out these helpful tips
The days are longer, the birds are chirping and the trees are beginning to bud. For soybean farmers, it can only mean one thing: Planting season has arrived. Here are the top six planting tips you should keep in mind.
1Know your soil type and condition. Coarse? Dry? High-residue? Knowing your soil is crucial in determining a range of factors when planting this season, including the right depth to plant. It’s desirable to plant deeper, closer to 2 inches, in sandy soils. In fine-textured soils, keeping seeds at shallower depths, between 1 and 1.5 inches, is best.
2The early farmer gets the yield. Soybean yields respond to early planting, so get those seeds in the ground as early as possible. However, soil condition trumps timing. Wait out extreme weather forecasts and exceedingly dry soil. And avoid the risk of a late frost or freeze by considering your emergence date, which usually comes seven to 10 days after planting.
3
Weeds can “spring” back to life. After a harsh winter, it’s hard to believe anything could survive, but several species of weeds can lay dormant over the cold months and make unwelcome appearances before planting. Research funded by the Louisiana Soybean & Grain Research & Promotion Board has shown that maintaining weed-free soybean fields for the first five weeks after planting maximizes yield. For more weed-management tips, visit www.TakeActionOnWeeds.com
4Stick to the straight and narrow. While some farmers are moving away from narrow rows, research shows return per acre can be maximized by planting rows narrower than 30 inches. “By widening rows, farmers are giving up more yield than they choose to believe, and this yield loss cancels any yield gains from inputs, based on our data,” says Seth Naeve, Ph.D., University of Minnesota.
5Save the worst for last. Did you know that soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS) is now among the top yield-robbing diseases in the U.S.? Soy-checkoff-funded studies show SDS cost U.S. farmers in excess of 25 million bushels in 2013 alone. While there are no varieties with complete resistance at this time, when conditions are warm and dry, be sure to plant fields with a history of SDS last.
6Stay safe out there. Every day, about 167 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Five percent of these injuries result in permanent impairment. And farming is one of the few industries in which families are also at risk. Keep yourself and your loved ones safe this season. Know your surroundings, don’t skip out on sleep or operate any heavy machinery while drowsy and keep your equipment properly maintained. u
Investing Checkoff Dollars
SCN Coalition: Take Two
Millions of dollars have been spent to combat the most damaging soybean pathogen in North America. The defense discovered decades ago is beginning to falter and researchers are concerned about the challenges ahead. As a consequence, nearly 40 university, checkoff and private scientists and growers gathered in mid-December to share management information and discuss the development of the second Soybean Cyst Nematode Coalition.
“The previous survey kind of woke up the industry about the need to be serious about getting high yielding cultivars with SCN resistance and that bought us about 20 years, but now
The way SCN attacks a soybean plant is through the roots, so until the damage is extremely severe, the leaves and canopy may appear healthy.
we’re getting more and more reports every year with fields where cysts are out of control,” said Anne Dorrance, professor of plant pathology at The Ohio State University.
The original SCN Coalition lasted only a couple years, but in that time thousands of growers across the North Central United States began testing for SCN and actively managing it. However, those same management tools are not working as well as they used to, and many growers don’t realize that the pathogen is changing.
This issue doesn’t affect one state or even one region. As of December 2016, SCN had been confirmed in more than 30 states, Puerto Rico and Southern Canada. SCN continues to spread within the states and is being confirmed in new counties and fields every summer. Unfortunately, the pace of spread isn’t expected to slow down any time soon.
Not helping the issue are several challenges unique to the SCN pathogen and how it has been handled over the last few decades. The most concerning challenge is farmer’s apathy toward the situation. As part of a 2015 survey, researchers found that 45 percent of farmers didn’t think identifying SCN was important, and, of these farmers, 69 percent didn’t think SCN was a serious issue. This means not only is SCN the biggest yield robber for North American soybean farmers, but those same farmers aren’t aware of the damage being caused.
“Using Ohio as an example, the first surveys reported back in 1996 showed really a very small percentage of our fields were infested,” said Dr. Anne Dorrance, professor of plant pathology at The Ohio State University. “Today, with a recent survey we can say there is probably a cyst in every field, it may be undetectable at this point, but they are likely in all our production fields.”
Other challenges facing SCN researchers include biology, math exercise and the definition of what is resistant. The way SCN attacks a soybean plant is through the roots, so until the damage is extremely severe, the leaves and canopy may appear healthy. This means casual scouting would not determine the issue. Soil sampling, testing and egg counts are necessary to determine how severe the problem is.
▶ Math exercise
To explain how severe the SCN problem can get if not caught early, Greg Tylka, Ph.D., Iowa State University, offered a math exercise. If half a cup of soil starts with 100 eggs, around half of those eggs will be female and produce 250 additional eggs each. Even with a 95 percent egg mortality rate, after three generations there would be 24,414 eggs in that same half-cup of soil. Depending on
the environment most north central states will experience 3-6 SCN generations in one growing season, so that number could be exponentially higher for some farmers.
“We have pockets of growers that I work with where the cysts are hard to manage and I’m excited about this next coalition effort that we can get a broader survey. I think sometimes farmers just don’t want to know, but you lose yield by not knowing,” said Dorrance.
▶ Definition of resistance
Many farmers who know they have an SCN issue are planting a ‘resistant’ variety, but what does resistant mean? In science the definition is less than 10 percent reproduction across a single generation, measured in a greenhouse test. Legally there is no definition for SCN resistance so a bag of seed with 75 percent (or higher) susceptibility could be labeled resistant.
Research presented at the coalition showed that in a greenhouse study examining the level of reproduction on 61 different soybean varieties, 58 of which were labeled resistant, all but one of them allowed reproduction above the 10 percent scientific threshold. With the same varieties in a field setting, 40 of the 61 varieties allow high rates of reproduction. In other words, the majority of those varieties tested were technically not resistant.
▶ Genetics
Adding to the resistance problem is the fact that the nematode is overcoming the two most common soybean breeding lines, PI 548402 (commonly known as Peking) and PI 88788. Or stated another way, SCN populations are becoming resistant to the resistance. Reproduction rates of SCN on both sources of resistance has risen above the scientific threshold in most areas. In the early 90s
there was almost no reproduction on the varieties with Peking and PI 88788 resistance, but overuse is leading to resistance problems for many farmers.
“I have a farmer who I’ve done studies on the farm where the cysts in some parts are 5000, and in one instance 40000, eggs per cup of soil,” said Dorrance. “When we brought those back to the lab, those have very high levels of reproduction on the 88788 source of resistance. I can think of 5 or 6 other fields from about five years ago where now the numbers are starting to creep up and we’re also getting reports of low yields and finding fields very high in cysts in the southern part of the state in areas that tend to do soybeans back to back.”
All of these factors led to the need for the second SCN Coalition. The first step was to bring a diverse group of academia, industry and commodity groups with farmers to discuss how to combat this pathogen. The event began with the 2016 National SCN Conference and concluded with the SCN Coalition meeting. Two
SCN Coalition States: Soybean cyst nematode is an increasing issue in the Midwest United States, with all 12 of the North Central Soybean Research Program states are involved in this project along with Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as a university in Ontario, Canada.
days of research presentations and discussions led to a greater understanding among all of the groups of the collaboration that will need to take place to wipe out SCN.
“Really as a pathologist, it’s kind of like I’m one lone scientist here, but across the region we’re all seeing the same thing, and the fact that we have a region wide problem needs region wide solutions,” said Dorrance.
▶ All 12 of the North Central Soybean Research Program states are involved in this project along with Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as a university in Ontario, Canada. u
Full Global Approval Clears Path for High Oleic Soy Market Expansion
High oleic soybeans have crossed their final regulatory hurdle, clearing the way for farmers to plant more acres of high oleic soybeans in 2018. Full global regulatory approval can help expand the market for high oleic soy and create opportunities to increase U.S. soybean value and competitiveness in the global marketplace. The soybean checkoff has invested in research to ensure that high oleic soybeans deliver the qualities required by oil end users. These varieties produce a more stable oil for food industry use in restaurants and packaged goods. The oil also expands uses for non-food applications, such as synthetic motor oil and automotive lubricants.
For farmers, checkoff-supported research has helped ensure that high
oleic soybeans perform the same as other soybean varieties and that variety development expanded to a wider range of maturity groups.
In order for end users to convert to high oleic soybean oil, they need a reliable, consistent supply. The checkoff has been working with industry partners to ramp up acreage of high oleic soybean varieties to meet growing demand. High oleic soybean varieties were initially grown in three states and are now grown in 13 states. Acreage of high oleic soybean varieties has grown from 50,000 acres in 2013 to more than 625,000 acres in 2017.
Given this regulatory milestone, its proven performance and anticipated continued growth in market demand, high oleic soybeans are expected to
High oleic soybeans have been grown commercially in the United States for five seasons. Currently grown in 13 states throughout the soybean belt, these varieties allow farmers to offer end-use customers a U.S.-grown, highly functional oil without sacrificing performance.
become the fourth-largest grain and oilseed crop in the U.S., with a goal of planting 18 million acres of high oleic soybeans.
Farmers interested in learning more about high oleic soybeans are encouraged to talk with their local seed representative and visit www.soyinnovation.com u
