High oleic soybeans offer a growing market for soybean farmers and a heart-health benefit for restaurants and consumers. United Soybean Board Director Kevin Wilson, a soybean farmer from Indiana, says high oleic soybeans were launched in 2012 and completed the global regulatory process in 2018. Demand for high oleic soybeans has grown since.
“Once we get that clearer, then a lot of the food companies started getting more and more on board, and taking a look at the high oleic oil, and all the different benefits and all the positives that it has. This year looks like we’re going to plant about 600,000 acres of high oleic soybeans. Hopefully next year it’s projected that we’ll get up over one million acres.”
High oleic soybeans offer several benefits for restaurants, and a growing market that means more demand, improving farmer profitability.
“The benefit comes to opening up markets that we didn’t have before that we had lost, mainly in the frying industry where high oleic oil has a huge benefit. We have the ability to get a higher heat buildup before the oil tends to break down, it gives the restaurants and whoever’s using them a longer lifespan, and then the health benefits that go along a little bit with this oil got us back into some of the competitive oils that we lost out to. So, that’s where hopefully the farmers will see more and more demand.”
Wilson adds high oleic soybeans are a win for the entire value chain, from farmers to end-users.
“High oleics have zero trans-fat, and it gives the companies a good alternative that we’ve got a great supply of it, and it’s something that everybody seems to have a big win in, and then hopefully, we can get more and more production, and demand built in the near future.”
To learn more about planting high oleic in your area, visit www.soyinnovation.com.