Building a Better Bean

Building a Better Bean

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

Soybean Research Center Benefits Rural, Urban Iowans

Behold the humble soybean. While this protein-packed powerhouse is used in livestock feed, soy turns up in so much more, from soyfoods to sandals to asphalt. The Iowa Soybean Research Center (ISRC) at Iowa State University (ISU) is helping Iowa farmers grow the best soybeans possible for a variety of traditional and innovative uses.

“Many of our research ideas come from farmers,” says Greg Tylka, director of the ISRC and a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at ISU. “Supporting the next generation of soybean research means we aren’t afraid to fund projects that are a little higher risk.”

Soybeans grown in Iowa are processed for their oil and for soymeal, and both components offer interesting opportunities for research. “Soybeans are used primarily for livestock feed to produce pork, poultry and seafood that contribute to a healthy, nutritious food supply for people,” says Ed Anderson, senior director of research for the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), which works closely with the ISRC. “Soybeans have a lot of other uses, as well. We’re excited to work with the ISRC to help Iowa farmers produce abundant, high-quality soybeans more sustainably.”

Soybeans are essential to Iowa’s economy. “We want to highlight how soy’s impact reaches far beyond the farm,” Tylka says. That’s why the ISRC hosted SoyFest 2021, a one-day, festival-style event on ISU’s central campus in late August to show how soy products are part of everyday life, from soybased crayons to foods cooked in soy oil to soy-based ink printed in newspapers. “On Amazon.com you can even buy OKABASHI flip-flop sandals, which are made with a soybased plastic,” Tylka adds.

Soy products also turn up in some unexpected places. Consider ISU’s BioCentury Research Farm between Ames and Boone, where the parking lot is paved with asphalt containing a soy-based biopolymer. The Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa, ISA and ISU researchers have worked together to create this unique polymer using high-oleic soybean oil, which offers more stability compared to other biobased oils.

Since there are more than 4 million miles of paved roads in the U.S. that require significant upkeep, this innovative polymer can create big opportunities for soybean farmers, notes the United Soybean Board. “Using a renewable resource like soybean oil also reduces our dependence on petroleum products,” Tylka adds.

Growing a Public-Private Partnership

Supporting cutting-edge research requires strong public-private partnerships. The ISRC stemmed from an idea developed by ISA, which has funded millions of dollars of soybean-related research since the group was formed in 1964.

The ISRC is a public-private partnership funded through ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, as well as thousands of dollars contributed annually by 11 industry partners and soybean checkoff dollars supplied through ISA. Farmers pay into the soybean checkoff each time they sell soybeans, and the proceeds help fund soybean research and promotion efforts.

“Public-private partnerships like this help us use all these financial resources more efficiently,” says Suzanne Shirbroun, an ISRC Industry Advisory Council member who farms with her family in Clayton County in northeast Iowa.

Suzanne Shirbroun is an ISRC Industry Advisory Council member who farms with her family in northeast Iowa.

The ISRC also helps balance farmers’ needs for practical research with future-focused projects. “We understand that not all ISU researchers come from Iowa or have an ag background,” Shirbroun notes. “Sometimes they don’t always understand farmers’ specific needs. The ISRC Industry Advisory Council opens the lines of communication so we can work together more effectively.”

Many of the ISRC’s research projects help growers produce higherquality, high-yielding soybeans. “Mother Nature throws something different at us each year,” says Shirbroun, a sixth-generation farmer who has been raising corn and soybeans with her husband Joe for 22 years. “Controlling soybean diseases like sudden death syndrome or insect pests such as the orange gall midge isn’t glamourous, but it’s essential to our business.”

Since the ISRC formed in 2014, ISU scientists, farmers and ag industry partners have been working together to study soybean biology, plant breeding, economics, precision agriculture, pest management and more. “It’s great to have a wide variety of industry partners come together,” says Shirbroun, who notes that partners range from Iowa seed companies to international crop protection companies. “You can bounce ideas off each other, ask questions and build on these ideas.”

This is a non-traditional approach for many private companies. “The ISRC isn’t a bricks-and-mortar building, and this isn’t proprietary research that’s exclusive to one company,” says ISA’s Anderson, who is also the executive director of the North Central Soybean Research Program. “It’s research that includes ISU Extension and teaching to benefit the entire soy industry.”

Current research has focused on the soil microbiome (the microorganisms in a particular environment), and how these microbes influence rooting patterns in soybeans. These rooting patterns affect plants’ ability to take up water and stay healthy. “The ISRC remains focused on leveraging funds and listening to farmers’ needs to help advance Iowa’s soybean industry,” Tylka says. “Our research is for the common good.”

Greg Tylka is director of the ISRC and a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at ISU. ISRC works to support the next generation of soybean research. (Photo courtesy of Joseph L. Murphy)

Today's Average Soybean Seed Composition

Oil: 19%

Protein: 34% (essential & nonessential amino acids)

Soluble Carbohydrates: 9%

Insoluble Carbohydrates: 21% (fiber)

Ash: 4% (minerals)

Moisture: 13%

Soy Products

Soy-based asphalt

Soy-based crayons

Okabashi flip-flop sandals

Soy-based ink

Soy oil