News

Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman, Iowa Argriculture

Farmers call low-lin beans an attractive option

By Cheri Lyon

Monsanto and Cargill began recruiting for more soybean acres last week by offering 50 to 60 cents more per bushel on Monsanto’s Vistive-brand low linolenic soybeans. Vistive soybeans have less linolenic acid than normal soybeans and soy processors need more growers to fulfill demand for the healthier soy oil.

“We want to revive interest in specialty soy acres since there is so much interest in the food markets for healthier oils. Specialty beans may have lost some of their luster due to the high prices of commodity beans,” said Jim Sutter, a Vistive representative.

He explained that food companies, including McDonald’s, KFC and Wendy’s, have switched to trans-fat-free oil. In addition, approximately 20 states have proposed regulations restricting the use of oils high in trans fats. Eric Keller, specialty products manager for Cargill, said food companies are scrambling to produce items that are trans fat free to meet customer demand.

Before the trans-fat-free oil phenomenon, nearly 83 percent of oil in the vegetable oil market was soyoil; currently that has dropped to 65 percent soyoil. Keller said this is due to the introduction of other oils, such as palm and canola, which are not as healthy as soyoil.

Value through the chain

Growing and using specialty soy allows value for everyone in the food-supply chain, he continued. The farmers get a premium over growing commodity soybeans, companies get a desirable product and consumers get a healthier product.

Steve Boender, an Oskaloosa soybean farmer, was at the event to discuss his experience growing Vistive soybeans. “Agriculture is changing so fast that you have to take it by the hand or it will take you by the throat,” Boender said.

Global competition

“You have to be able to make changes in this industry. Farmers are supposed to be feeding the world, and with the competition in South America for volume, we have a product that can add value for farmers and consumers,” Boender said.

Boender planted his first Vistive crop in 2006, when he only planted a small percentage of his total acres with Vistive soybeans to see how the specialty beans would perform. He was so happy with the results that he increased to 50 percent of his total acres in 2007 and will plant all of his soy acres in 2008 with Vistive beans.

The beans are Roundup ready, so Boender says he can plant more acres, spend less time managing those acres and still be a good land steward.

He admits that the most attractive feature of the bean is the increased premiums he can get when they are sold. Boender encouraged all soybean farmers to try growing some of the beans and benefit from the increased premiums. The only additional work Boender had to do in growing specialty beans was cut a 30- to 40-foot swathe with his combine at harvest to clean out any potential contaminants or residues. He also uses an air compressor and cleans out the head of the combine after harvest.

Malin Westfall, Vistive marketing manager, said 1.5 million acres of Vistive beans were grown in the United States in 2007. Iowa farmers grew the most, with approximately 435,000 acres from 3,000 farmers.

While Monsanto and Cargill did not mention a specific goal for Vistive acres, Westfall said they are looking for a 10- to 20-percent increase in total acres for 2008. He said incremental growth is expected in the coming years.

Contracts and delivery

Greg Berg, a Cargill merchant, said Cargill is making the delivery of Vistive beans more flexible and easier so farmers don’t have to sell into the regular commodity bean market.

Some of the changes include daily delivery instead of limited delivery and price-later contracting, with selling days between September and November. They also offer acreage contracts, instead of bushel contracts.

“Our goal is to help farmers make more money and also provide a beneficial product to companies and consumers so everyone wins,” said Westfall. “We can do that by getting more acres of Vistive planted and making it easier for farmers to want to grow Vistive.”