Corn is king in Nebraska, but nationwide, there are more acres of soybeans than any other crop.
And just as corn has ethanol, soybeans can become fuel; specifically, soybean oil can be used in renewable fuels.
Rising soybean production has spurred plans for two new processing facilities in Nebraska - one in Norfolk and another in David City - to crush soybeans into oil and meal.
“That's huge, that's increasing our crush capacity by 80 million bushels, and we're going to need soybeans,” said Doug Saathoff, chairman of the Nebraska Soybean Board and Trumbull-area farmer.
“And a lot of this crush is coming online because of demand for soybean oil, which is basically because demand for renewable fuels, biodiesel, sustainable aviation fuels,” said Scott Ritzman, Executive Director of the Soybean Board.
Markets like California are driving demand for cleaner-burning soy biodiesel, but that only uses part of the plant.
Saathoff said, “Now we have to find something to do with meal, promoting animal agriculture, relationships overseas.”
“That's the biggest challenge,” Ritzman said. “There's a lot of crush plants, which means we have to find homes for it in Nebraska and have to increase livestock development.”
There have been new and expanded crush plants in other states as well.
Companies like AGP with a soybean crush plant in Hastings say soybean meal production will outpace historic increases in domestic usage. They've invested in an expansion of port facilities to be able to ship more soybean meal to Asia.
“The big country that buys a lot is Philippines and Thailand,” said Ritzman.
Growers say the way to use more meal domestically is to feed it to chickens and hogs, and they'd like to see more of that in Nebraska. It's a challenge they say the industry can meet and a byproduct of rising demand for soybean oil that's keeping prices strong.
“We're investing dollars in these areas to bring profitability back to Nebraska,” Ritzman said.
That’s important in volatile times.
“It's been a rough year for about every Nebraska farmer,” Saathoff said.
From drought to inflation, soybean growers have a lot to manage.
“Diseases, pest, irrigation management,” he said.
And Soybean Management Field Days provides resources for a crop that's second in Nebraska but accounts for more acres nationally than corn this year.