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Contacts:
Charles Hurburgh, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, (515) 294-8629
Barbara McManus, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0707

SURVEY SHOWS 1998 SOYBEAN OIL AND PROTEIN CONTENT AT 10-YEAR HIGH

AMES -- The 1998 soybean quality survey indicates that both oil and protein content tested at 10-year highs. This year's harvest results were compiled in late November after testing 2,035 soybean samples from 29 states. The survey is funded annually by checkoff money administered by the United Soybean Board.

Charles Hurburgh, Iowa State University Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering professor, said this is the 13th year for the soybean quality survey. This year's soybean crop tested 0.7 percent higher in protein and oil content than the survey's 10-year average.

"We had a good year," Hurburgh said. "It's all because of the weather. We didn't have our first frost until late October."

Producers were asked to send two soybean samples, one from early harvest and one from late harvest, to be analyzed. The samples were sent to the Iowa State University Grain Quality Laboratory. Every state reported less than a 0.2 percent difference between early and late soybeans in oil or protein content, which is similar to the 1997 survey.

Every year the United Soybean Board and the American Soybean Association travel to Asia to share the survey results with representatives in several countries. Hurburgh said the information is primarily used to increase exports.

"The Asian market consumes more soybeans than it can produce and historically it has been fussier about the quality of the soybean it imports," Hurburgh said. "They don't have the land area to produce the soybeans they need."

Survey results include average meal and oil yields. Average meal yields were estimated at 43.4 pounds of 48 percent protein meal per bushel. The average oil yields were estimated at 11.2 pounds of oil per bushel, or more if moisture was less than 13 percent.

The 1998 U.S. soybean crop quality is expected to equal or surpass the South American soybean crop. Hurburgh said if those expectations are met, it could mean higher prices or increased demand for U.S. producers.

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