08/09/2024 (Ohio Country Journal) - Ohio currently has the ability to crush about 56% of the state’s soybean crop, which equates to roughly 168,000,000 bushels of soybean crush capacity, according to Madison Corbi, Ohio Soybean Council Manager for Demand and Market Development. “With the planned growth we see, if everything comes to fruition, roughly another 55,000,000 bushels crush capacity would be added. Once complete, and doing math based on our 10-year average soybean production numbers, we’re going to have the capacity of around 85 to 90% of our total soybean crop. That’s mostly driven by the need for vegetable oils here in the US,” said Corbi.

There are several products that can be substituted as a feedstock for biodiesel production, however soybean oil is one of the largest and has a sustainability advantage over some other options. “Soybean oil holds the largest share of feedstock availability or feedstock used in bio-based diesel production,” said Corbi. “I think it sits at around 35% of the feed stock used. Farmers need to continue doing what they do for the sustainability aspect, making sure that we are meeting those market needs for low CI feed stocks and that’s something that the soybean check-off is making sure that the farmers’ messages are getting out there in terms of the practices that they’re doing. The Check-off is showing, marketing, and educating everybody on soybean oil as a low carbon fuel or low carbon or feed stock option for these fuel markets.”

The demand for biodiesel is growing, but more can be done locally to make it readily available. “A lot of the east coast and west coast states are consuming a lot of our clean fuel production nationwide. I think if a farmer here in the state of Ohio reached out to their fuel providers and mentioned that they would like to use biodiesel, that could really make a big impact, especially as soybean oil is still holding a really great share of the biodiesel market in particular,” said Corbi. “It’s great for farmers equipment, it’s a greener alternative, it pretty much tracks with regular diesel prices. A farmer reaching out to their fuel producer requesting soy-biodiesel can make a big impact and that’s just another way they’re basically supporting their own farm.”

“There’s a lot of good opportunities for our US soybean farmers and Ohio soybean farmers in particular,” said Corbi. “If we see both the US scale and Ohio scale to the amount of fresh capacity that was announced, farmers are going to benefit by increased basis in their area. They’re going to have more options than marketing. Ultimately this need for vegetable oil has been a big driver and is helping farmers, so continuing to push the market to grow, creating a circular economy for soybeans is going to benefit the farm.

Livestock feed needs are not missed in this biofuel’s opportunity. Growth in the crush capacity in Ohio means more sources and volume of local soybean meal as a biproduct. “Animal agriculture is our #1 customer, so we love the opportunity to service two markets,” said Corbi. “That’s the beauty of working in the soybean industry. We have so many opportunities there and being able to still support, and even increase our support of our livestock customers is just one of the greater benefits of this need for vegetable oil.”

“There are so many things that can be made with soybean oil, and biodiesel is just one of the great opportunities,” said Corbi. “It adds about 13% in value to every bushel soybean, so it’s been a big market hit for farmers.”

https://ocj.com/2024/09/soybean-crush-demand-and-biodiesel-in-ohio/