Oilseed Farming

Companies in this industry grow and harvest soybeans and other oilseed-producing plants, such as sunflower, safflower, flax, sesame, and canola (also known as rapeseed). No major companies dominate the industry.

The 2024/2025 global oilseed production is forecast to reach over 420 million metric tons according to Statista. Soybeans are the most produced type of oilseed, but palm oil is the world's leading vegetable oil.

The US oilseed farming industry includes about 270, 000 farms, with combined annual revenue of about $33 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by trends in food consumption. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations. Large companies have advantages in purchasing land and equipment. Small operations can compete effectively by specializing in organic and heirloom oilseeds.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

The industry's primary product is soybeans, which account for about 90% of US oilseed farming production. Other products include sunflower seed, canola (also known as rapeseed), flaxseed, and safflower.

Soybeans are bushy, green legumes related to clover, peas, and alfalfa. Farmers plant seedlings in late spring after the danger of frost has passed. Most oilseed is grown on dry land in a crop rotation with corn. Planting the two crops in succession improves weed control, lowers pest and disease risk, and requires less fertilizer.

In summer, soybeans flower and produce 60 to 80 pods, each holding three pea-sized beans. Beans are harvested in late September or October, when the bean's moisture content is around 15%. A typical soybean farm yields 50 to 60 bushels of soybeans per acre (around 2,500 pounds). Other oilseeds yield around 1,000 to 2,000 pounds per acre.

Farmers use combines to harvest and thresh (separate) the beans from the pods, being careful not to break the beans or hulls. Threshed beans are either dried onsite or transported to an off-farm drying and cleaning facility. Naturally dried oilseed is spread out in thin layers on a drying floor and exposed to sunlight and air for two weeks. Beans must be stirred frequently and covered at night to ensure consistent drying. Artificial drying is common in farming regions that need to process large quantities, or in areas with high humidity. Soybean driers circulate warm air for about 30 minutes, which lowers the bean's final moisture content to around 10%.

Beans ready for processing are put into a cleaner-separator machine, where a hopper, fan, and vibrating sieve tosses and sifts them to remove dust, plant tissue, and pebbles. Cleaned oilseed is then transported to an oil processing facility. Oilseed processors crush and roll the seed, which removes the hull and extracts the oil from the meal. A 60-pound bushel of soybeans yields nearly 50 pounds of protein-rich meal, 10 pounds of oil, and two pounds of waste byproduct.

A small amount of soybeans are kept whole, which can be used for seed, sold to food manufacturers for snacks or fresh edamame, or sold to livestock farms that prefer whole bean feed. Whole beans can be stored for up to a year in bulk in storehouses or silos. Storage helps stabilize the supply and market price of beans. Common inputs include seed, chemicals for weed control, fuel, electricity, farm supplies, machinery, and crop nutrients. Show more