POTOMAC, Ill. —With demand increasing from Japan, South Korea and the European Union (EU), U.S. farmers are well positioned to take advantage of the boom in specialty soybeans, which boast a higher premium than commercial beans and are more environmentally-friendly to produce. 

A key partnership between the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) and the six-year-old Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) has helped Illinois growers to connect with processors, suppliers and transportation allies to build and maintain a reliable infrastructure system for the marketing of specialty soy products. The partnership is possible due to funding from the ISA’s checkoff program. The SSGA is also supported by the soybean checkoffs of Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.  

“Connecting end users with soybean producers is a big part of what SSGA does, in order to move our specialty soybeans from point A to point B,” said Bryan Severs, an Illinois farmer who grows non-GMO corn and soybeans with his sons in the east-central Illinois community of Potomac (Vermilion County). Severs is currently serving as chairman of the SSGA and is one of two farmers on its board of directors. 

“At ISA we’re trying to develop markets, and through SSGA we can do that. Many of the board members on SSGA are buyers and they have contracts with farmers that have specific requirements our end users want. We’re working on expanding that market throughout Illinois,” he said. 

Severs, who is also ISA’s soybean production committee chairman, added that SSGA’s U.S. Identity Preserved (IP) Assurance Plan can help assure foreign buyers that the soybeans they purchase have adhered to their production specifications and shipping demands. SSGA has stated that a 2025 goal is to expand their IP program because of the premium prices specialty beans bring and to counterbalance tariffs or economic challenges.

“At SSGS we have buyers from foreign countries who want specific types of beans, with specific proteins and specific hilum, because they are making tofu, or soy milk or other products. They want to get the maximum out of the products they buy, and with just-average soybeans they don’t get that. Non-GMO is an important part of this,” he said. 

Shipping is another very important aspect of SSGA’s work, according to Severs, who joined the SSGA board two years ago before becoming its chairman. Building out domestic transportation systems that provide the backbone to trade is another of SSGA’s stated goals for 2025. 

“We can’t connect the grower’s products with the end user without the people that are shipping them. We work with politicians, and have a person on staff who works specifically with that to get legislation on shipping containers and things like that,” said Severs. 

Unlike with organic production, farmers need not let fields lie fallow for long periods in order to convert their production to non-GMO and other types of specialty soybeans. Chemicals are still used by most producers, though non-selective, GMO herbicides like Roundup and Liberty are, of course, eschewed. 

“We use old-technology sprays, so we deal with weeds,” said Severs. “We spend a little more money on chemicals, which is offset by the premium, but seed is generally not as expensive because it’s not genetically modified.” 

Special care must be taken when planting, harvesting and transporting certain types of specialty soybeans, with the prevention of species cross-contamination in the front of mind. These steps must be traceable, transparent and documented in order for a producer to meet the requirements necessary to earn a premium for their beans. 

“When it comes down to it, the farmer that is going to be successful is one that’s willing to clean out your planter, clean out the semis before you haul, along with the combine, the auger cart and the grain bin. Doing all those things enables you to get the premium,” Severs said. “Those end users want consistency, and the IP program brings them a consistent product. At $9 (per bushel) beans, your profit margin is pretty tight right now and if you can get a premium on top of that it can make a big difference.”

The expanding global demand for non-GMO and other specialty soybeans and farm products is part of a continuing international consumer food purchasing shift that places a greater value on product traceability and accountability, according to Severs. 

“More and more people are saying ‘we want non-GMO and we want to know where our food came from,’” he said. “With the IP program that we are promoting, (buyers) can follow the product all the way back to the farm. I think there is going to be more demand, but we always have to remember that the consumer is the one we have to cater to. What we are trying to do is have an idea where our soybeans are going to go before we even grow them, and we are achieving that.”

Learn more about the SSGA at soyagrainalliance.org.