Rohwer, Arkansas
August 6, 2009
"If we build it they will come,"
could be the motto for an initiative to develop Arkansas adapted
soybean varieties with higher than average oil and protein
content in the University of
Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's soybean breeding
program.
Soybeans that yield more oil and protein are more valuable for
use in food, feed, fuel and many other products, but farmers
aren't paid for the difference unless they contract with a
specialty products firm. The main market for farmers is the
generic commodity market.
In a few years, producers may be in a position to add marketing
options with new varieties that routinely produce 15 pounds of
oil per bushel compared to the current average of about 12
pounds in varieties with comparable yields, said Bryan Stobaugh,
a Division of Agriculture researcher.
Stobaugh discussed the high-oil soybean breeding objective at a
July 30 field day on crops for biofuel production at the
Division of Agriculture's Rohwer Research Station in Desha
County, which is a unit of the Southeast Research and Extension
Center at Monticello.
The research plot tour for the field day was rained out, but
researchers gave presentations on their projects to develop the
information farmers will need to produce "next generation"
cellulosic biofuel feedstock crops such as switchgrass,
cottonwood and sweet sorghum.
Future Energy Crops. When emerging technology to refine fuel
products from the cellulose in plant stems and leaves becomes
economically feasible, a commodity market for "energy crops"
could develop for Arkansas farmers, agricultural economist
Michael Popp said.
Popp and other field day speakers discussed the environmental
and economic implications, as well production requirements, for
such a major addition to the state's agricultural sector.
Matt Pelkki, a natural resource economist with cottonwood and
switchgrass studies at Rohwer, said lumber companies already use
biomass to fuel wood-burning power plants, and they market
biomass pellets for wood-burning furnaces. Such use could
greatly expand if electric utilities are required to use a
mandated percentage of renewable energy sources, he said.
"In Arkansas, its not likely to be wind or solar, but it could
be biomass," Pelkki said of meeting a renewable energy source
mandate.
Renewable alternative fuels have already had a major impact on
Arkansas agriculture. Increased demand for corn, soybeans and
other oilseeds used for biofuel has resulted in higher crop
prices and larger acreages of those crops.
High-Oil Soybeans. Development of high-oil soybeans is an
example of Division of Agriculture support for producing
feedstock for the current biodiesel markets.
Stobaugh is a graduate student assistant of Pengyin Chen, who
directs the division's statewide soybean breeding program based
at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center in
Fayetteville. He is the son of Conway County farmer Robert
Stobaugh, a longtime promoter of biodiesel production and use.
The elder Stobaugh, who attended the field day, said he would
expect soybean buyers servicing the biodiesel industry to pay a
premium to farmers who can deliver high-oil soybeans.
The average oil content of commodity soybeans in Arkansas is
about 20 percent, Bryan Stobaugh said. Breeding lines developed
by Chen over a period of years average 25 percent oil, which
translates into three pounds more oil from a bushel of beans.
Chen's high-oil breeding lines maintain comparable levels of
protein as current varieties, but yield is lower. Stobaugh said
the yield component is being steadily improved by backcrossing,
but it will take several years to reach the desired combination.
The target is high oil, average or better protein, and high
yield for a variety release, Stobaugh said. Chen is also
considering earlier release of a high-oil variety with a small
yield drag, which would benefit growers who get paid for oil
content until the high-yield, high-oil target is reached.
Meanwhile, Stobaugh said a high-yielding Group IV variety is
near the end of the pipeline for release. Genetically pure
foundation seed grown in 2010 should be available to seed
growers in 2011.
'Osage,' an Arkansas variety released in 2007 by the Division of
Agriculture, was used as a high-yield check variety in the 2008
and 2009 USDA Uniform Trials, due to its excellent performance
for yield and other traits across a range of environments,
Stobaugh said. |
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