partner with AIC

If your company utilizes gene editing to create new value-adding soybean varieties, consider partnering with AIC! 

Many new value-added soybean varieties must be carefully segregated from the U.S. commodity soybean supply, even after they have been deregulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  

Even for a new soybean variety created via only gene editing (i.e., no separate transgene also inserted into that soybean’s DNA additional to the change wrought via gene editing), there are often several additional required approvals prior to the import of such a soybean that vary by overseas country market. Additional government approvals that are separate and additional to any mandatory transgenic (biotech) import approvals, include: 

Novel food laws. These national laws require advance approval for any new composition food (and sometimes animal feed) ingredients.  

Laws governing the mandatory nutritional specifications of infant formulas and enteric meals. For example, some of the gene-editing-created soybeans being researched could cause infant formula/enteric meals to fail to meet government-mandated minimum nutritional requirements if commingled into commodity soybeans (which would then be utilized in the manufacture of infant formula/enteric meals). The impact could theoretically be harmful due to baby/patient’s reliance for 100% of their daily diet. 

Laws that mandate compliance with product identity standards for food ingredients. For example, many nations’ domestic national food laws include a legal definition of “soybean oil” that excludes high oleic soybean oil and certain other value-added soybean oils. 

Regulations mandating maximum amounts of certain nutritional components allowed to be present in food/feed ingredients. For example, the content of isoflavones within certain food ingredients. 

Laws that mandate certain product labeling for food ingredients that contain more than that nation’s threshold for the amount of a food ingredient (e.g., soy flour) made from a gene-editing-created soybean variety.  

Beneficial results of partnering with AIC for the processing of small batches of new soybean varieties created via gene editing: The AIC soybean processing facility was specifically built to be able to process small batches (as small as one ton quantity) while keeping maintaining segregation of those value-added soybeans and the products resultant from processing, such as soybean meal, soybean oil, soybean hulls, etc.   

Payment of price premiums is a necessary element of a soybean growers’ risk management plans, since identity preservation of soybeans is an important part of maintaining the necessary separation from commodity soybean streams of commerce. The steps required by growers to properly manage identity preservation in soybean production are labor-intensive and require both careful management and record-keeping. 

Since the coming value-added soybean varieties created via gene editing will offer significant price premium/profit opportunities to Minnesota soybean growers when they are eventually scaled-up in planted acreage via identity preserved production, Minnesota soybean growers are keen to avoid disrupting U.S. soybean exports.   

To begin to start your partnership with AIC, please contact Tom Slunecka at 507-720-4052 or tslunecka@agmgmtsolutions.com. 

FAQ:

  • If you want that oil in the form of simple crude soybean oil (not further processed), and you provide a receptacle/tanker truck to stand-by at our Crookston, Minn., facility during the crushing of the sample, we anticipate you would receive approximately 950 pounds of the oil. 
  • If you want that oil in the form of degummed crude soybean oil, we anticipate you would receive approximately 850 pounds of the oil. 

  • If you want that soybean meal in the form of full fat soybean meal (not further processed), we anticipate you would receive approximately 5,500 pounds of the full fat soybean meal. 
  • If you want that soybean meal in the form of dehulled full fat soybean meal (not further processed), we anticipate you would receive approximately 4,900 pounds of the dehulled full fat soybean meal. 
  • If you want that soybean meal in the form of expeller-pressed soybean meal (approximately 5% oil content), we anticipate you would receive approximately 4,800 pounds of the expeller-pressed soybean meal. 
  • If you want that soybean meal in the form of dehulled expeller-pressed soybean meal (approximately 5% oil content), we anticipate you would receive approximately 4,200 pounds of the dehulled expeller-pressed soybean meal. 
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  • Yes, that is certainly possible for AIC to do. The AIC soybean crushing plant has four different small receiving bins that can each separately hold 2,500 bushels of soybeans. The AIC also has two different large receiving bins that can each separately hold ~30,000 bushels of soybeans.