Soybeans at the elevator

Thursday, November 13, 2008

When you drop off your soybeans at the elevator, their journey has just begun. In fact, almost every other row of U.S. soybeans is used overseas. In 2005, 1.1 billion bushels of soybeans were exported, and that adds value to every soybean you produce. Your checkoff investment pays for international marketing programs to increase demand and create new markets across the globe. Below are just a few of the areas where your checkoff investment is working.

China
Checkoff programs are helping grain processors promote soybean meal and new feed technologies throughout China. And your investment also sponsors feeding trials, consultations and seminars to boost soybean meal use among swine and poultry producers.

Your checkoff also works to promote the use of soybean feed in aquaculture. And through the use of consultations with the culinary community, soy flours and other soy ingredients are finding a home in new cuisines.

Southeast Asia/Middle East/Africa
Throughout the region, soybean checkoff representatives are making connections and building relationships with customers and potential buyers of U.S. soybeans. Soybean checkoff programs also assist processors with technical assistance to develop, produce and market value-added products like high-quality dehulled soybean meal and high-protein energy blocks.

Latin America
Your checkoff investment is used to build interest in and demand for low trans fat soybeans. Representatives work with major influencers in the accommodations and food service industries to increase soy inclusion rates in the dishes served. At all points of the value chain, from processing to end-use by livestock farmers, the soybean checkoff is at work to add value to your soybeans.

Europe
In addition to promoting high soy inclusion rates in aquaculture, your soybean checkoff is promoting the use of biodiesel and other biobased industrial products. Diesel usage rates among consumers are much higher in Europe, as is interest in green, sustainable products. Europe represents an area for demand growth as soy-based products become increasingly important to the market.

Japan
As in Europe, there is a growing interest in soy biodiesel and other soy-based industrial products in Japan. Your soybean checkoff works with a variety of industrial leaders and exhibits at trade shows to encourage innovations that leverage the versatility and sustainability of soy-based plastics, lubricants and adhesives.

Soybean harvest

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Agriculture Department on Monday lowered its forecasts for this year's U.S. corn and soybean harvests, with corn production now expected to come in below analysts' estimates. USDA said corn production is expected to be 12.02 billion bushels, down from last month's revised estimate of 12.03 billion and below analysts' estimates of 12.08 billion. Corn yield per acre is expected to come in at 153.8 bushels, down from last month's estimate of 153.9.

The soybean harvest is forecast to be 2.92 billion bushels, down from 2.94 billion, according to the USDA's November report. The new projection matched analysts' estimates.

Soybean yield per acre is forecast to be 39.3 bushels, down from 39.5 last month.

The USDA lowered its estimate of the average price of corn for the year to a range of $4 to $4.80 per bushel, down from $4.25 to $5.25 per bushel last month. Increasing global supply and expected reductions in demand are likely to push feed corn prices down, the department said.

Corn and soybeans are used as animal feed by meat producing companies such as Tyson Foods Inc., Hormel Foods Corp. and Smithfield Foods Inc. Shares of those companies fell sharply late last month when the USDA reduced its estimates for corn and soybean production this year.

Despite the declines in projected harvests, this year's corn crop is still expected to be the second largest on record. The soybean crop is expected to be the fourth largest ever.

Monday's report comes as 86 percent of this year's soybeans, and 55 percent of the corn, have been harvested, the USDA said. That makes the projections more accurate than previous months.

The corn harvest is significantly behind its average pace, the USDA said, due to planting delays in the spring and cooler than average temperatures during the growing season.

Soybean Oil

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Although this Web site contains information primarily about soy protein, another major component of the soybean, soybean oil, is the most widely used vegetable oil in the country. Liquid soybean oil is low in saturated fat and high in poly- and monounsaturated fats and is among the most healthful of all edible oils. It is also one of the few nonfish sources of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which may be beneficial in helping to prevent cancer and heart disease. In addition, the FDA says that foods containing eiscosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acids can now carry a qualified health claim stating that they may help to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Although liquid soybean oil is used in a number of products, including salad dressings, cooking oils, and some brands of margarine, other food applications require a more solid form of oil for increased stability and texture. Hydrogenation is the process of rearranging the chemical structure of a liquid oil to make it more solid, which also produces trans fatty acids. Hydrogenated vegetable oils became very popular in the '70s and '80s as a replacement for oils that are high in saturated fat, such as lard, tallow, and some tropical oils.

More recent research suggests that trans fatty acids may behave similarly to saturated fats in the body, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to require food manufacturers to list trans fatty acid content on the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels effective January 2006. In the meantime, the soybean industry is working diligently on creating new varieties of soybeans that will produce a more healthful oil that does not require hydrogenation. Simultaneously, soybean processors are developing new oil-processing techniques that prevent the formation of trans fat.

It is important to keep in mind that even today, trans fats represent only 2.6 percent of the average American's total caloric intake, whereas saturated fats represent approximately 12.5 percent of total calories. Most health authorities do not recommend replacing trans fats with saturates, and instead advocate reducing the total amount of fat in the diet. The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee suggests total fat intake be less than 30 percent of total calories. The best advice is to look for oils that are high in poly- and monounsaturated fat and relatively low in saturated fat, such as liquid soybean oil.

source:
http://www.soybean.org/Trans.html