Grower took unconventional path, advocates high oleic soybeans

United Soybean Board farmer-leader Belinda Burrier has been farming with her husband for 18 years, but listening to her talk, you wouldn’t know she wasn’t born into the lifestyle.

“I didn’t know anything about it,” she said. “Actually, I’ve been on a crash course on learning grain farming.”

Burrier and her husband grow corn, wheat, soybeans, alfalfa hay on their Frederick County, Maryland, operation.

“We own 102 acres here,” she said. “We farm about 1,200 acres—renting. We started with 50 acres and we increased it gradually as we went and we were 100% high oleic soybeans last year.”

High oleic soybeans are a type of soybean that was developed for their oil content. Burrier said they’re primarily used in the food industry and other applications like asphalt and rubber.

“People want to change to the higher oleic oil because of its extended fry life, increased shelf life and the heat stability,” Burrier said. “The oil doesn’t have to be changed so often, which in turn saves them money in the long run as far as institutions, restaurants—that kind of frying.

She said it’s ideal for sautéing, and the snack food industry has really started to run with it.

“Different companies have picked up on switching over and they been running test samples for the last three months,” Burrier said.

High oleic soybean oil is fat free and a direct substitute for other oils.

Market opportunities

But for farmers, it can also be a substitute for regular commodity soybeans, and garner a premium when it’s sold. Fall is a time to rake in the harvest, but also a time to make decisions on which crops to plant the following year. According to USB, many producers are hoping to add high oleic soybeans to their rotation to earn premiums. They’re grown similarly to commodity soybeans, with the primary requirement being keeping them separated from other varieties.

“The reason why we liked the idea when they first came out was that there was no extra management. Nothing was different on the management,” she said. “You put them in, you plant them the same time as conventional soybeans.”

Where she lives in Maryland, they have to put on fungicide to deal with mold and mildew on the beans at the end of the growing season, and it allows the pods to fill more prior to harvest. The Burriers use the same fertilizer and pesticide treatments on the high oleic soybeans as conventional.

“When we happen to grow both high oleic and/or the commodity beans we would harvest the high oleic ones first so we could store them in our bin until the mill calls for them,” she said. “Generally you can’t take them straight to the mill, you have to wait until you get a call to deliver them.”

Burrier is proud of the work USB is doing to find more markets for the high oleic soybeans and encourages other growers to call their local cooperatives to start taking them in.

“High oleic soybeans innovate and grow current markets while giving the consumer a product that they want and the farmer the premium that they need,” she said.

According to USB high oleic soybeans have select availability across the Midwest and Delmarva Peninsula.

“For the 2021 growing season, the availability of high oleic soybean contract opportunities has widened, with a multitude of delivery locations available and an average premium of more than $0.50 per bushel,” according to a USB news release. “A recent study indicated that if high oleic growth continues as projected, a 1,000-acre soybean farmer will net between $34,000 and $50,000 more from soybean farming as a result of higher prices driven by high oleic demand.”

Burrier said farmers really have nothing to lose as far as yield goes when planting high oleic soybeans, plus the additional premium is attractive to the bottom line.

“To me, you’re growing these soybeans in a sustainable manner and the market is demanding the soybeans be grown in a sustainable manner,” she said. “If a farmer switched to them they would be creating a higher demand to fill.”

The premium is nice, and it helps growers like Burrier diversify their operations.

“If we can create that demand for the U.S. farmer it takes a problem out of the equation for the farmer because they can get that premium,” she said. “It builds on their bottom line and it’s really no extra management that they have to do to get that market.”

USB said by providing a product that meets the demand of bio-based alternatives, high oleic soybeans are adding long-term value for all U.S. soybean farmers. The 9 billion pounds of annual potential oil demand will require 16 million planted acres of high oleic soybeans by 2027.

Burrier said to check out the USB website for more information about high oleic soybeans at www.soyinnovation.com.

“For us, these soybeans have the same weed management program, fungicide program and come from the same dealer,” said Burrier. “It’s not any harder, but we get paid more for them. What more can you ask for?”

Leader-director

Burrier’s husband was previously on the USB and when his term expired he was in charge of finding his replacement. He didn’t have to look far and Burrier became the first woman on the Maryland Soybean Board.

“And within a year, my name was put forward to go on the United Soybean Board and I was appointed to that,” she said. “This is my sixth year I’ve been on the soybean board and I’m on the executive committee, target area coordinator for the oil.”

She really enjoys being on USB and working to promote the crop in any way she can.

“I love that they are creating a demand for soybeans not only worldwide, but in the United States,” she said. “So many manufacturers and customers are wanting to source locally. That’s one of the reasons why I really like growing soybeans.”

Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or [email protected].