SPILLING THE BEANS: SOYBEANS FOUND EVERYWHERE, FROM GRAVEL ROADS TO FURNITURE TO FUEL TO THE HOME'S FOOD PANTRY

Soybeans aren't just for cattle and hogs anymore.

These days, soybeans are found everywhere from gravel roads to furniture. And there's more to come.

Researchers are discovering new uses for this diverse farm commodity that remains a crucial part of the nation's domestic farm economy.

The soy spotlight was on Southeast Missouri in 1994, when the area was a testing ground for a new soybean oil dust suppressant. The dust suppressant, a new product for the Valley Co. of Memphis, Tenn., which also produced a soybean soap, was sprayed on gravel roads in Scott, Pemiscot and New Madrid counties.

Thomas M. Verry, director of field services with the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council at Jefferson City, said the dust suppressant is working well. "There are now four companies marketing the products," Verry said, adding that it is being used on roads in Iowa, Kentucky and Kansas.

Environ, another soybean product developed in the 1990s, is also going well. It is a biocomposite building product. Developed in mid-1991, Environ is used in furniture, wall paneling and flooring.

Environ was created when a fifth-grader from Mankato, Minn., needed a project for her school's science fair. One evening, when her parents were away, she ripped up a newspaper, stuck it into her mother's blender and ground it into pulp.

To this she added glue and hit the blend button again. Then, she placed the glop in a glass bread pan and popped it into the microwave. The result was a very hard granite-looking block, which worked like a wood product.

The project netted Molly DeGezelle a blue ribbon and the suggestion that she and her parents seek a patent number.

That was in 1991.

Today, Molly is a stockholder in Phenix Composites Inc., which manufactures and markets Environ.

Molly's formula was good, but it required some fine tuning. Recycled newspapers are still used to make Environ.

The fine tuning included the replacement of the glue with a monolithic resin agent, made from high-protein soy flour, some proprietary additives and coloring agents.

The dust suppressant and Environ create additional markets for soybeans, which is one of Southeast Missouri's largest agriculture commodities. More than 30 million bushels of soybeans are produced in the region each year.

Dale R. Ludwig, executive director of the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and the Missouri Soybean Association, said, "The livestock industry is our largest customer. Currently livestock and poultry numbers are on an increase."

Some 95 percent of all soy meal is used for livestock feed. The nation's poultry eats about half of it, followed by swine, dairy and beef cattle.

People eat soybeans, too.

Americans consume an average of 260 pounds of soybeans a year, said Ludwig, a Jackson native.

"Literally thousands of products we eat everyday contain soy protein and soy oil," said Ludwig.

Check the food labels ... biscuits, cake mixes, soups, baby food, gravies, candy, mayonnaise, pizza mix, crackers and salad dressing all list soy as an ingredient.

Americans also eat soybeans in their meat and dairy products. The livestock industry uses soybean meal in their rations.

A number of recent uses for soybeans include soybean ink, cardboard boxes produced from soybean fiber, hot dogs made from soybean protein.

Others are soy diesel fuel, soybean styrofoam and soybean adhesives.

Soybean ink has become a promising and environmentally sound agricultural discovery, said Verry.

Farmers have long known that ethanol isn't the only farm crop that reduces our dependence on foreign oil. Soy ink is quickly replacing petroleum-based products as both a pollution and energy-saving alternative.

In the newspaper business alone, soybean ink is used by more than half of the nation's 1,700 daily papers. With a $3 billion newspaper ink market at stake, the potential for soy is nearly unlimited.

"Soy ink is great for color printing," said Verry. "More than 40 million pounds a year are currently being used." Many federal and state agencies are utilizing all-soy newsprint inks in the millions of pounds of paper products printed annually.

Missouri's soybean fields may be tomorrow's oil fields. SoyDiesel fuel is used by mass transit vehicles and is sold at numerous boat marinas for boats with diesel engines.

"It's cost effective and environmentally friendly," said Verry.

In 1979, Missouri farmers started the soybean checkoff program, which provides dollars for market development, research and education for the more than 30,000 farmers in the state's soybean industry.

In Southeast Missouri farmers produce more than 30 million bushels of soybeans.

Six area counties are ranked among the top 10 soybean-producing counties. In recent years Pemiscot County has been a soybean leader, with more than 165,000 acres producing more than 5.6 million bushels.

In 1993, no fewer than four area counties were among the top five soybean counties. New Madrid, with 165,000 acres, produced 5.23 million bushels, Mississippi County produced 5.1 million bushels of beans on 141,000 acres and Stoddard County produced 4.9 million bushels on 149,000 acres.

Other area counties in the top 10 were Butler County (102,000 and 3 million bushels) and Dunklin County (92,000 acres and 2.9 million bushels). Scott County is not far off that pace, usually ranking 12th (88,000 acres and 1.8 million bushels).

Cape Girardeau County raises from 35,000 to 40,000 acres of soybeans, producing about 1.3 million bushels a year. Perry County usually raises 25,000 to 30,000 acres, with up to 1 million bushels of beans.

Statewide, Missouri ranged from 3.5 million to 4.2 million acres of soybeans a year, with production from 117 million to more than 150 million bushels a year.

Soybean products list is endless

The global marketplace is ripe with opportunities to build demand for soybeans.

Meal for livestock and poultry and oil for human nutritional products will remain the mainstay of soybean use in the future. However, a host of other new uses for soybeans will add significantly to the overall demand.

These new uses are many and diverse -- from diesel fuel to ink to building materials.

Many projects aimed at developing these new uses are being funded by the Missouri checkoff dollar program.

Soybeans already have well over 1,000 uses, with the list still growing.

Among soybean uses:

-- Livestock and poultry feed, the No. 1 use for soybeans.

-- Human consumption, soybean products being used in numerous food products.

-- SoyDiesel, made from processed soybean oil, is a clean-burning fuel, performs same as regular diesel with no differences in horsepower, miles-per-gallon or engine wear.

-- SoyInk, offers superior color reproduction, has low-rub qualities and is environmentally friendly.

-- Dust suppressants, being used on gravel roads and parking areas.

-- Environ, new composite building materials made from soybean protein and waste paper, including newspapers, used in furniture, flooring, wall paneling and structural decorative components.

-- Adhesives, big in the wood adhesive market.

-- Plastics, research projects under way to develop low-density polyethylene plastic film for use in trash bags, grocery bags and diaper backings.

-- Foams, another research project on soybean-based flexible and rigid polyurethane, which can be used in making everything from soles of shoes to refrigerator insulation to battleships.

-- Polish, soybean oil is being used in the manufacturer of some polishes.

-- Concrete form lubricants. As many as 2 million pounds a month are being used for concrete forms lubricants.

-- Fertilizer, one of the newest uses for soybean meal, is an all-natural, soybean-based lawn and garden fertilizer.

Soyfoods recipe contest

Missourians still have time to enter the third annual Missouri Soyfoods Recipe Contest.

The contest, sponsored by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, includes four categories: (1) whole soybeans, minimum, one-half cup, (2) Tofu, minimum one-half cup (3) soy flour, minimum one-third cup and (4) heart healthy, must meet American Heart Association guidelines.

Additional details are available by calling 1-800-MO BEAN1. Missourians have until June 25 to send entries to Recipe Contest, C/O Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, P.O. Box 104778, Jefferson City, Mo., 65110.