COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council’s efforts to grow farmers’ return on their soy checkoff investments have taken another leap forward.
The leaders of Missouri’s premier organization for soybean research formalized a key partnership to bring Missouri’s non-GMO high oleic soybean technology to growers.
The agreement, recognized with a ceremony at the Bay Farm Research Facility outside Columbia, grants John Schillinger and Schillinger Genetics, Inc., an Iowa-based company, a license to commercialize not only the emerging high oleic soybean technology traits, but also to breed soybean varieties combining high oleic with low linolenic soybean oil traits.
The agreement represents the first licenses granted to commercialize this technology.
The difference
High oleic technology is an advancement in the soybean market that gives soybean oil greater potential for uses like baking, frying and sauteing in both commercial and home kitchens.
Low linolenic soybean oil, likewise offers improved stability. Research is one of the top priority areas for the farmer leaders of the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council when investing soybean checkoff dollars each year.
The partnership
The partnership agreement includes licenses for breeding soybean varieties with the high oleic technology, as well as to facilitate a seed increase program and sell the varieties scaled up through that increase program within the United States and Canada.
The licenses are non-exclusive and non-sub licensable. Farmers interested in purchasing soybean varieties from the program will be able to recognize those seed beans through patent numbers and logos.
All packages of commercial seed developed through this license agreement will be marked with patent numbers 9,035,129 or 9,198,365, and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council’s logo.
Timeline
Test plots demonstrating the potential of these soybean varieties are in place for 2017 throughout the Midwest and include trials in southeastern Missouri. Trial results will be available to Missouri soybean farmers after harvest.
Seed from two high oleic varieties with maturity groups of III and IV is being produced for 2018 commercialization.
Proceeds from the sale of soybean varieties developed through the research program are reinvested into soybean research.
When these varieties become available in the marketplace, growers will also likely benefit from a lower cost per unit as compared to similar seed options.
