MSU Extension Soybeans

High oleic (HO) soybeans have been available for Michigan farmers to grow for more than a decade. The trait was originally developed to help position U.S. soybean oil to command a greater market share among other oils including palm, olive, corn, sunflower and canola. The primary difference between commodity soybeans and HO beans is not the percentage of oil, protein and other components, which are essentially the same. The difference is in the fatty acid profile (fatty acids are the building blocks for oils), primarily oleic acid.

What is oleic acid and why is it important?

The backstory

Linoleic and linolenic acids are polyunsaturated with two and three double bonds in their structure, respectively. They contribute to instability in the oil and reduce both fryer life and shelf life. Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, improves oxidative stability. Olive oil, considered by many to be the gold standard when it comes to healthy cooking oil, has 75% oleic acid while oil from commodity soybeans has only 23%. In comparison, HO soybean oils have at least 70% oleic acid with some soybean varieties able to produce over 80%. Thus, HO soybean oil is more stable than commodity soybean oil with fryer and shelf lives two to three times longer.

Historically, soybean oil has been hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated, to improve its stability. However, this also produces trans fats which are particularly unhealthy as they raise “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower “good” cholesterol (HDL). In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared trans fats were no longer generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and banned their use in 2018 with a final compliance date of Jan. 1, 2021. In the 2000s, food manufacturers began looking to other oils such as canola and palm as trans fat health studies mounted and the writing was on the wall. Imports of palm oil—only 10% polyunsaturated fats but over 50% saturated fats, which are also unhealthy—increased nearly five-fold from 2004 to 2023, according to two reports from the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and the Statista statistics portal. The U.S. soybean market needed to find an answer to this problem to regain lost market share.

Enter high oleic soybeans

In the early 2010s, United Soybean Board invested $10 million to help DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto develop their own lines of HO soybeans in maturity groups that would cover 80% of U.S. soybean acres. Pioneer first introduced Plenish HO soybeans in 2012 in 13 states after a decade-long product development pipeline. Monsanto followed suit with Vistive Gold soybeans in 2018. Both soybean lines were produced via genetic modification to increase oleic acid and decrease linoleic and linolenic acids. In 2021, a partnership between the University of Missouri, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, and the United Soybean Board created a non-GMO HO soybean they termed Soyleic. These continue to be the three widely available HO soybean commercial offerings to date, although Soyleic has been licensed by other companies including Beck’s.

Michigan State University soybean breeder Dechun Wang, PhD, with support from Michigan Soybean Committee, has also worked with over 1,000 HO breeding lines called Olasoy, and he has15 lines currently in university variety trials. An estimated 1.6 million acres were planted to HO soybeans in the U.S. in 2024 with 2.7 million acres projected by 2027, according to a report prepared for the U.S. Soybean Export Council. Indiana leads in the production of HO soybeans with several processing facilities in the state.

Feeding HO soybeans to livestock has also proven beneficial for improving production and fatty acid profiles in milk and meat. Feeding whole roasted or ground beans to dairy cows increased milk fat yield and the amount of oleic acid in the milk fat according to research by Lopes et al. (2017) and Weld and Armentano (2018). Replacing commodity soybeans with HO beans in broiler and pig feed also shifted the fatty acid profile in the meat of both animals without harming feed efficiency or meat quality according to Peckman (2020). Feeding HO soybean meal is not expected to affect feed characteristics since the oil fraction has already been removed, and HO meal can be mixed with meal from commodity soybeans with no additional changes in the supply chain.

How do they compare?

Early accounts of a yield drag with HO soybeans have been replaced by numerous university trials and anecdotal reports that yields are now comparable with commodity soybean varieties. Several farmers and agribusiness professionals interviewed for this article all claimed there were no significant agronomic characteristics that were different between HO and commodity varieties. The only concern raised was with weed control. Non-GMO varieties of HO soybeans of course will require a different suite of herbicides compared with the GMO varieties. Both Plenish and Vistive Gold have only glyphosate tolerance, so glyphosate-resistant weeds will pose problems in these fields. Still, there are several effective herbicide options for all HO soybean systems. Herbicide programs with layered residuals will likely be critical.

The main difference in production practices between HO and commodity soybeans is the need for identity preservation (IP) programs. Since HO soybeans have distinct genetic differences compared with commodity beans, they must be kept separate all along the value chain. With GMO varieties, growers can adhere to a “soft IP” program since it is not the presence of a certain genetic trait that must be detected but merely the average level of oleic acid concentration in the soybeans. This can be measured quickly with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIR) upon delivery to an elevator or processor. Since a small amount of commodity soybeans should not cause the oleic acid level of a load of HO beans to fall below a set minimum, cleanout of harvest and transportation equipment and storage bins need not be overly stringent. If storing grain prior to delivery, growers must have enough separate bins for the HO beans and their other grains.

Non-GMO varieties require “hard IP” programs, which include all the same precautions as “soft IP” programs but with tighter restrictions. In this case, the presence of GMO seeds will produce a positive detection for the trait and can cause rejection of a load. Cleanout of planting equipment and thorough cleanout of all previously mentioned equipment is needed along with detailed recordkeeping.

But the premiums

For all the additional cleaning, maintenance, recordkeeping and time required with IP, buyers are prepared to pay a premium for delivered loads of HO soybeans. Historically, these premiums have ranged from $1–$2 per bushel for GMO varieties and $2-plus per bushel for non-GMO varieties, according to the High Oleic Soybeans & High Oleic Soybean Oil Sourcing Guide for International Customers, Third Edition. Some buyers will pay lower premiums for immediate delivery and slightly higher for on-farm storage prior to delivery. Forward contracting is needed to ensure proper balance of supply and demand until this market develops. Companies such as Bunge have a certain allotment of acres they will buy HO soybeans from each season, and growers must contract on a first-come, first-served basis. Buyers are more restrictive on the allowable grain moisture they will take for HO soybeans with most capping between 13–15%. Over the past couple of years, the market has been oversupplied with the result that some buyers are offering fewer contracts, and premiums are expected to decrease slightly moving forward.

Bottom line

The potential for HO soybeans to help U.S. farmers recapture domestic and international market share is great, but it will take time for food processors and industrial manufacturers to make the needed changes to switch to the improved feedstock. For farmers interested in pursuing this opportunity, contact the closest buyers to find out the specifics of their contract requirements. In Michigan, those includes Zeeland Farm Services (Zeeland and Ithaca), Quality Roasting (Reese), several processors within 60 miles of the Ohio and Indiana borders, and possibly dairy operations looking for a closed-loop source of HO soybean feed.

Know your current cost of production for soybeans including expected freight costs to a given buyer. You can also use the High Oleic Profit Calculator Tool to better determine whether growing HO soybeans at certain market prices and premium values will be profitable for your operation.