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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).
U.S. soybean plantings peaked at 75.9 million acres in 2008. 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.)
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 2002
Census of Agriculture indicated that 317,611 U.S. farms raised
soybeans in 2002, down from 511,000 in 1982. With more acreage and
fewer farms, harvested soybean acreage per farm increased from 114
acres in 1978 to 228 acres in 2002. 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 2002 crop. Irrigation
was used on 5.5 million acres of soybeans, or 7.5 percent of total
2002 acreage. Individual or family farms accounted for 85 percent
of all soybean farms in 2002 and 73 percent of soybean production.
The remainder 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). As soybean acreage in the South has declined
since the early 1980s, there is less double cropping of
soybeans with winter wheat. In recent years, an increasing
number of soybean farmers have adopted conservation tillage
practices. With less intensive soil cultivation, weed
control depends more heavily on herbicide applications.
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.
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