CBOT Soybean Oil Futures Chart

In a recent Brownfield agricultural article, Under Secretary for Rural Develpment Tom Dorr (USDA's point man on renewable fuels)  told NAFB members that the 2025 renewable fuel target of 25% is not going to be achieveable for biodiesel if soybeans are the only feedstock. Dorr commented, "I think what the biodiesel industry is going to sit down and deal with is what technologies, what iterations of those resources that we produce, can we use and convert into biodiesel that will be competitive as opposed to largely looking at fats and oils that go into the human consumption stream."  He said that it may be time to think about using biodiesel feedstocks other than soybeans.

Even Bart Ruth, past president of the American Soybean Association was not surprised and conceded that it might not be possible to meet soy oil demand for both food and fuel. Ruth said, "You know, in soybeans, we've had this market dynamic where half of our soybeans have been used in the export channels as a foodstuff, and those are still important customers to us."

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