Biofuel Industry Growth
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Growth in the biofuels industry offers multiple opportunities of demand for soybeans, benefiting all U.S. farmers. Mac Marshall, United Soybean Board vice president of market intelligence, says the demand for oil is in a period of positive transformation.
Marshall… “We’ve got demand for soybean oil from the renewable diesel sector as part of California’s push for decarbonization, and that’s incentivized this humongous wave of private-sector investment in expanding crush capacity. And I think what’s really exciting about that is a lot of areas around the country, which have historically been underserved, are now potentially getting those crush plants. This is part of the environment that farmers are reconciling and looking through, because in addition to having that significant growth in oil demand, we also have to look at the meal side.”
Marshall adds a recent Purdue University study was released regarding soybean oil use in biofuels and discussed what that means for consumer prices.
Marshall… “This was actually work that was funded by the checkoff because we want to understand that we play a critical role in that food channel through soybean oil, but also whole beans and meal as well. So, understanding what this shift means on the biofuel side, we want to make sure that it all comes together, and it accounts for soy being used in the animal protein side as well. And the net result, even as you have soybean oil prices come up, there is very little impact on consumer-level pricing.”
Keep up with the latest news from the United Soybean Board at unitedsoybean.org.