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Vistive soybeans can offer a higher price for a healthier bean

By Wendy Sweeter, Editor

As Americans get more and more concerned about obesity and the food they eat, soybean producers have an opportunity to grow healthier beans.

Soybean companies, like Monsanto, started offering a lowlinolenic soybean as early as 2005. The low-linolenic beans can reduce or eliminate the unhealthy trans fat in the processed soybean oil.

Monsanto’s most recent offering is Vistive soybeans, which in 2007 were grown on 1.5 million acres across the country.

“Vistive low-linolenic soybeans provide growers with a premium market opportunity along with strong agronomic performance in the field,” said Joe Bothe, soybean quality traits manager for Monsanto. “They also help strengthen the competitive position of the U.S. soybean industry by promoting the use of soybeans as the source of trans fat-free oils over alternative sources.”

Corn and soybean producer Mike Plucker of Chancellor, S.D., grew Vistive beans for the first time this year. He planted about 70 acres and yielded about 45 bushels per acre.

Plucker planted the beans because he was intrigued by them and was interested in the premium.

“They offered a 60-cent premium which is pretty nice incentive to do it,” he said.

The only downside of growing this type of beans that Plucker sees at this point is he has to haul them to Sioux City, Iowa – about 80 miles away.

Prairie Brand Seed grower Mark Von Arb of Granville, Iowa, has been growing Vistive seed beans for three years. Since he started, he has seen an increase in the number of acres planted to Vistive.

Von Arb likes the benefits the Vistive soybean oil offers to consumers.

“It’s actually a healthier bean as far as the consumer goes,” he said.

Vistive beans will be offered in 31 different seed brands for 2008. Vistive low-linolenic soybeans typically contain less than 3 percent linolenic acid as an oil component compared with 8 percent for conventional soybeans.

As a seed grower and salesman, Von Arb is pleased with how the beans have been yielding. His yield was in the 50-bushel range. He says that is down a little from normal due to dry conditions this summer in his part of Iowa.

Von Arb anticipates more producers ordering Vistive seed for next year’s growing season.

“Producers now look at what their bottom dollar is and what their dollars per acre are and you know if they can generate more dollars per acre, that’s one way of doing it and not really changing a lot of your farming practices,” Von Arb said.

For 2008, Vistive growers can earn buyers’ call premiums starting at 60 cents per bushel.

“Food oils represent a high-value product, so low-linolenic soybeans fall right in line with the American Soybean Association mission to bring additional value to the industry and profits to soybean growers,” said John Hoffman, first vice president of the ASA. “As food manufacturers move away from using partially hydrogenated soybean oil, the American Soybean Association is firmly committed to value-added low-linolenic soybean varieties.