Soybean Checkoff Tackles Food vs Fuel Issue

Tag : Soybean Oil
Soybean Checkoff Tackles Food vs. Fuel Issue
06/24/2008
by Gary Truitt

Soybean growers from across the nation are in Indianapolis thisweek for a meeting of the United Soybean Board (USB). The directors came together to set the priorities anddirection as to how checkoff dollars will be used in the comingyear. During the discussion, there was considerable debate on howthe soybean industry should respond to the Food vs. Fuel issue.Karen Fear from Montpelier, IN, said soy-biodiesel is beingunfairly criticized, We need to get the word out so that peopleback this more. Jack Reed from Washington County said the soybeanis a perfect example of how farmers can produce both food and fuel,When you take the oil out of the soybean you will have 80% of thesoybean left which is meal. From that meal, you can make livestockfeed and a variety of human food needs. Reed said it is not aneither or situation.

Indiana USB representative Jim Schriver said, unlike ethanol, verylittle of soybean production is going into fuel production, Onlyabout 2% of our soybean production goes into fuel production. Hesaid the real issue is the price of oil. Not only is the high priceof oil causing energy prices to rise, but it has caused a dramaticincrease in soybean oil demand. Industrial users are trying to findan alternative to crude oil, and soybean oil is an alternative towhich they are turning. He said farmers are some of the largestusers of energy, so it only makes sense they try and produce alittle of their own.

Switching from Demand to Supply

The top priority of the soybean checkoff used to be increasingdemand, but increasingly the concern is producing supply. The goalof the checkoff remains to generate 3.5 billion bushels of demandby the year 2010, but many delegates at the meeting on Tuesday saidmore money needs to be spent to insure that such a supply can beproduced. The budget calls for $12,846,562 to be spent on programsto increase soybean production. This is second to the $16,288,252to be spent on Animal Utilization, the largest item in the budget.A program on new uses for soybeans was tabled until the Decembermeeting when US soybean production for 2008 will be known.