Food Beans and Yield Winners
Ohio Family Doesn't Make Compromises on Soybeans They Grow for Japanese Markets
The Shawhan family business is soybeans. The South Charleston, Ohio, operation is a prolific producer of nontraited beans shipped to buyers in Japan. These producers go the extra distance to know their customers' needs and to produce a high-quality, high-yielding product.
Jeff Shawhan and his dad, John, grow soybeans and corn on 2,600 acres between Dayton and Columbus, in Clark County. They custom-farm another 1,000 acres. Their niche is the production of non-GMO (genetically modified organism) beans for specific end users in Japan. The opportunity came thanks to a business connection established by David Martin, principal owner of Bluegrass Farms of Ohio.
"I went to Japan two years ago and visited the three largest tofu makers there," Jeff said. "The trip gave me a whole new perspective. Here in the U.S., soybeans are just another commodity. In Japan, they are not a commodity. They are food. Whether it goes into tofu or miso soup or whatever, soy is Japan's main source of protein. Talking with these people gives you a different perspective on why we have to keep everything variety-specific and be extra careful of our chemicals."
WINNING NON-GMOS
Identity-preserved does not mean low yielding. In 2013, the first year the Shawhans entered the Ohio Soybean Association Soybean Yield and Quality Contest, Jeff's measured plot took top yield honors in the non-GMO, no-till division with 72.53 bushels per acre. His dad's plot took second place with a yield of 67.17 bushels. In the quality category, John's beans scored second highest with 36.8% protein.
The recognitions came with a variety from Bluegrass Farms, Seed Consultants 3FG72. These beans are purchased back as a harvested crop by Bluegrass and are a variety Martin's company has verified as nontraited and possessing protein content matching the needs of his customers in Asia. The Shawhans received premiums of up to $2.50 a bushel, well worth their extra effort, especially since their yields were generally high and the seed less expensive.
"The seed is cheaper because we don't have to pay Monsanto [technology fees]," John said. "We started planting non-GMO six or seven years ago. At that time, we planted half non-GMO and half Roundup Ready. It only cost us $5 more an acre to plant non-GMO varieties, because we spent more on chemicals, but we didn't have the higher seed cost."
DETAILED RECORDS
The Shawhans say one of the primary challenges of growing non-GMO soybeans is the need to clean combines and grain carts thoroughly between varieties. "We wash them out with a garden hose," John said. Other than the strict separation of varieties, differences in herbicides used and meticulous recordkeeping, there seems to be little difference between the ways the Shawhans and many other high-producing growers farm.
They have leveled out pH and fertility across the farm using yield maps and grid samples. They plant beans in 15-inch rows with their corn planter, normally dropping 150,000 to 160,000 seeds per acre. The economic optimum yield across the farm is between 55 and 60 bushels per acre.
They credit the utmost care of their soils as a main contributor to high yields. They've no-tilled some of their fields since 1985. "Every once in awhile, you have to do [tillage]," John said, "but we haven't owned a plow for 35 years."
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On land that they custom-farm, where cows have been run and the soil is compacted, they perform some tillage. They rip-till all their new farms with a DMI no-till ripper to crack the hardpan and improve water infiltration.
"We go slow enough with the no-till ripper that it looks like we've put down anhydrous," John said. "It doesn't disturb the soil surface; it just rips."
BREAKING TRASH
The farm also owns a Horsch Anderson Joker. The Joker is a multipurpose tillage tool used in seedbed preparation, fertilizer incorporation, residue and stubble management, and field conditioning. It can be used at high speeds of up to 10 mph. The Shawhans have used theirs for two to three years to break up and aerate heavy bean residue, which helps warm up their ground in spring for corn. Now, they are experimenting with the Joker on cornstalks in the fall to improve the no-till, bean-planting results in the spring.
"We're getting a concentration of residue due to bigger equipment [and higher seed populations]," Jeff said. "This situation requires more time to warm up soils for better seedbeds. Vertical tillage has helped us a good bit on that, but we are still only tilling the top 1 1/2 to 2 inches. This year, it benefited us in wet and cold conditions."
Test plots, short-term trials and economic payback have steered the Shawhans away from implementing agronomic practices on several occasions. For example, they tried plant growth regulators in 2013 and got no yield response. They don't routinely use foliar fertilizers for the same reason.
Although every acre is sprayed with fungicide to improve plant health and quality, some varieties don't respond with a yield increase.
"Some varieties have enough tolerance in the plant to where spraying won't help the yield," Jeff said. "We spray for cosmetics of the bean itself. If you're selling to the food market, they want to see a uniform product."
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Destination -- Japan
The U.S. was once the only supplier of soybeans to Japan. That was before the introduction of genetically modified seeds. In the years following that, the U.S. market share in Japan fell by more than half, though it has ticked up a few percentage points in recent years.
GMO soybeans destined as animal feed aren't a major concern in Asia. The ones headed for dinner plates and bowls are very much a concern.
"We're selling protein," explains David Martin, principle owner of Bluegrass Farms of Ohio, in Jefferson, Ohio. "It's vegetable protein as opposed to meat protein to balance the diets of humans. Soy protein is the cheapest protein available. Food safety and non-GMO go hand-in-hand. If you're going to eat soy directly, non-GMO is the preferred soybean throughout the world."
Bluegrass Farms focuses on producing and processing identity-preserved, nongenetically-altered specialty soybeans. The non-GMO beans grown by producers like Jeff and John Shawhan, and other U.S. farmers, are sold at a premium to Bluegrass. The company cleans the beans, packs them in 30-kilogram bags (66 pounds) and ships them in sea containers to a variety of end users, such as Japanese tofu makers.
"When GMO came along, we began losing market share to Canada," Martin said. "It became more diluted every year until our share was about 47%, but we're gaining back slowly, to about 50% now, because companies like ours are guaranteeing a certain quality and identity."
IMPORTANT TRAITS
Bluegrass selects for certain agronomic traits. Yield is always an important one. The physiological traits of protein, taste and ability to coagulate are important in the human food market. Bluegrass works with plant breeders throughout the U.S. to identify the best non-GMO varieties. The company also requires growers to keep accurate records of what they do to a crop, particularly the chemicals applied. Martin said this is becoming increasingly important as food-safety concerns grow among foreign buyers. The beans are tested for chemical residues after harvest.
"Our job is to look for the genetics that will fit the food group we're selling to," Martin continues. "Once we find that, we license the genetics and get them into farmers' hands."
Seed is sold through direct sales or by local distributors. Bluegrass buys these varieties back at premiums up to $2.50 per bushel. Premiums paid to a grower represent the added work he has to do to keep the grain pure, but not for any kind of agronomic loss.
HISTORY IMPORTANT
"Consumers worldwide are more concerned with safety than just a few years ago," Martin said. "They want to know the history behind their food, so we also ask farmers to spray according to label and keep records. We also like [to add] insect control and fungicides to enhance grain quality."
These beans get special handling. "They're all cleaned, washed and polished, and ready to be put in the vat," Martin said. "A lot of our soybeans go for tofu, a coagulated product that gets utilized in a lot of different ways." He adds that miso is a fermented product.
The harvested varieties must not be mixed. Growers have to follow a strict identity-preservation program that requires their planters and combines to handle only one variety at a time. They also have to maintain the non-GMO standard established by the purchasing country. Martin said the highest standards are Japan's.
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