Outlook for soybeans and soybean products in 21st century markets

Abstract

The United Soybean Board and other agricultural research organizations in the U.S. have devoted considerable attention to genetic modifications of soybean composition and yield enhancement. These innovations, based on strategic research concepts put forward two decades ago [1], are now filling seed-industry pipelines with a series of elite soybean cultivars that are distinguished by specific quality traits. For example, soybeans that produce high-oleic oils under the TreusTM and VistiveTM product lines are now becoming commercially available in U.S. markets. Looking forward, knowledge gained from the sequence of the soybean genome will accelerate the development and deployment of additional traits that will continue to reset the ingredient paradigm for a wide range of food and feed products. Soybeans with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and soybean meal with substantially greater amounts of digestible phosphorus are among the innovations that are moving through the pipelines toward commercial production. This review envisions how these next generation soybeans will influence growth in oilseed markets that are increasingly driven by customer demand for quality, nutrition and value. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.