Integrating High-Oleic Soybeans into Farm Systems: Exploring Production, Marketing and Contracts

By Eric Anderson and Hanna Campbell et.al

High-oleic soybeans (HOSB) have the potential to improve human health and increase farm profits for those able to take advantage of near-term opportunities. 

Farmers have an opportunity to improve profitability while meeting demand for healthier oils and livestock feed with HOSB. Developed to increase U.S. soybean oil’s competitiveness against palm, olive, corn, sunflower, and canola oils, HOSB differ from commodity soybeans. The differences are mainly in their fatty acid profiles, particularly higher oleic acid content. 

Demand has grown rapidly in recent years, driven by food manufacturers and dairy farms using roasted HOSB in feed rations. This bulletin outlines the nutritional benefits of high-oleic oil, agronomic and other production practices, marketing opportunities and contract considerations for HOSB. Refer to MSU Extension Bulletin E3541 for an in-depth review of roasting, storing, grinding and feeding HOSB in a dairy operation.

Nutritional Advantages 

Linoleic and linolenic acids are polyunsaturated (more than one double bond along the carbon chain), which contributes to instability in oil and reduces both fryer life and shelf life. Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, improves oxidative stability. Many consider olive oil to be the gold standard when it comes to healthy oils. It has approximately 75% oleic acid, while oil from commodity soybeans has only 23% (Table 1). The United Soybean Board has set industry standards for high-oleic and low-linolenic oil at >75% oleic and <3% linolenic acids (Bilyeu, 2020), respectively. High-oleic soybean oil is sometimes referred to as high-oleic, low-linolenic (HOLL) oil. Thus, HOSB oil is more stable with a shelf life 2–3 times longer than that of commodity soybean oil. 

Historically, soybean oil has been hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated, to improve its stability. However, this also produces trans fats, which are particularly unhealthy as they raise “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower “good” cholesterol (HDL). In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2024) declared trans fats were no longer generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and banned their use in 2018 with a final compliance date of January 1, 2021.