|
The major U.S. oilseed crops are soybeans, cottonseed,
sunflowerseed, canola, rapeseed, and peanuts. Soybeans
are the dominant oilseed in the United States, accounting
for about 90 percent of U.S. oilseed production. Most
U.S. soybeans are planted in May and early June and harvested
in late September and October (see Usual
Planting and Harvesting Dates for U.S. Field Crops
for soybean dates by region).
Large-scale production of soybeans did not begin until
the 20th century in the United States, but area planted
to soybeans has expanded rapidly. Soybeans are the second
most planted field crop in the United States after corn,
with 77.5 million acres planted in 2009. Increased planting
flexibility, steadily rising yield improvements from
narrow-rowed seeding practices, a greater number of
50-50 corn-soybean rotations, and low production costs
(partly due to widespread adoption of herbicide-tolerant
varieties) favored expansion of soybean acreage. More
than 80 percent of U.S.
soybean acreage is concentrated in the upper Midwest,
although significant amounts are still planted in the
historically important areas of the Delta and Southeast.
Acreage tends to be concentrated where soybean
yields are highest. (See USDA's National Agricultural
Statistic Service for historical
data on soybean and other oil crop acreage,
yields, and prices.)
 d
jpg
l png
Rising yields have also encouraged expansion of soybean
acreage, as seed varieties, fertilizer and pesticide applications,
and management practices have improved over time. Higher
yields reduce per-bushel production costs, which increases
profitability. ERS data indicate that soybean
production costs and returns for each region vary
from the national average. Midwestern soybean producers
generally have higher yields and lower per-acre cash costs
than Southern and Eastern producers.
Data from the 2007
Census of Agriculture indicated that 279,110 U.S.
farms raised soybeans in 2007, down from 511,000 in 1982.
Acreage planted to soybeans was also lower in 2007 than
in 2002, as demand for corn rose dramatically in this
year. Harvested soybean acreage per farm increased from
114 acres in 1978 to 229 acres in 2007. Although small
farms with less than 250 acres accounted for 72 percent
of the farms growing soybeans, these farms produced only
26 percent of the 2007 crop. Irrigation was used on 5.2
million acres of soybeans, or 8 percent of U.S. soybean
acreage in 2007. Individual or family farms accounted
for 81 percent of all soybean farms in 2007 and 69 percent
of soybean production. The rest were largely partnerships
and small family-held corporations, with other corporations
accounting for less than 1 percent of soybean farms and
soybean production.
In the United States, soybeans are most commonly grown
in a crop rotation with corn (see Agricultural
Production Management: AREI, 2006 Edition). Since
the early 1980s, double cropping of soybeans with
wheat in the South has declined. In recent years,
an increasing number of soybean farmers have adopted
conservation tillage practices. The development of
better herbicide applications has allowed producers
to use less intensive soil cultivation practices.
Soybean pesticide use (nearly all of which are herbicides)
ranks second only to corn. Commercial fertilizer was
applied to less than 40 percent of soybean acreage,
a much lower rate than for most row crops (e.g., corn
and cotton). Unlike other crops, soybeans can fix
their own nitrogen and require minimal nitrogen fertilizer.
(More information on Crop
Production Practices is available from the Agricultural
Resource Management Survey.)
Soybeans were one of the first bioengineered crops to
achieve commercial success. USDA now conducts a farm survey
to determine the extent of the adoption of biotech crops.
The data indicate that soybeans comprise the greatest
share of biotech acreage of all major U.S. crops (see
the annual Acreage
report). Biotech soybeans are nearly all herbicide resistant.
The popularity of bioengineered soybeans among U.S. farmers
has ramifications for resource use, marketing, and international
trade. Herbicide-tolerant soybeans have lowered the cost
and changed the type of herbicides used by farmers (see
Estimating
Farm-Level Effects of Adopting Herbicide-Tolerant Soybeans ).
In response to consumer preferences, both domestic and
foreign, grain handlers are assessing the value of segregating
bioengineered soybeans from conventional varieties. The
added cost for segregating nonbiotech corn and soybeans
could be higher than for segregating value-enhanced crops.
Differentiating biotech and nonbiotech commodities may
become an issue for grain handlers (see Biotechnology:
U.S. Grain Handlers Look Ahead).
Initially, the bioengineering of oilseed crop traits has
focused on improving production attributes, such as higher
yields and lower costs. But enhanced functionality characteristics
will soon emerge, such as high oleic, high stearate, and
increased omega-3 content (see Value-Enhanced
Crops: Biotechnology's Next Stage).
 In
the United States, nearly all soybeans are crushed to
extract the oil from the resulting meal. A comparatively
small amount of whole soybeans are used for seed, roasted
for snacks or on-farm dairy feed, and consumed as traditional
soyfoods such as tofu. Almost all soybean crushers are
located near the major production regions, with good access
to rail and barge carriers that transport products to
Gulf of Mexico ports. For crushers, the Soybean
Processing Decision involves choosing when to commit
to buying soybeans (e.g., from farmers), when to process
them, and when to sell soybean meal and oil (e.g., to
food and feed manufacturers). The main variable behind
purchasing decisions is the gross soybean processing margin.
This margin equals the per-bushel revenue of soybeans
processed into oil and meal minus the per-bushel soybean
price. If the gross soybean-processing margin is high
enough, a processor will commit soybean-processing resources
for that date. If it is too low, the processor keeps the
processing resources available for a future date and a
higher margin.
Soybean meal is the most valuable component obtained
from processing soybeans, ranging from 50-75 percent of
its value (depending on relative prices of soybean oil
and meal). By far, soybean meal is the world's most important
protein feed, accounting for more than two-thirds of world
supplies. Livestock feeds account for 98 percent of soybean
meal consumption, with the remainder used in human foods
such as bakery ingredients and meat substitutes.
Soybean oil generally has a smaller contribution to soybean
value, as it constitutes just 18-19 percent of soybean
weight. Yet soybean oil accounts for 55-65 percent of
all vegetable oils and animal fats consumed in the United
States. It is mainly used in salad and cooking oil, bakery
shortening, and margarine, as well as in a number of industrial
applications. Until 2005, soybean oil was the largest
source of vegetable oil worldwide. In 2005, however, palm
oil overtook soybean oil in volume of production. Palm
oil and rapeseed oil (canola) production are expected
to continue to grow over the next few years.
|
