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Soybean field

Have you ever driven along a country road and seen fields similar to the photo above? The fields like the one show in the photo are soybean fields.

Soybeans(Glycine max) are an annual legume of the Fabaceae family. They are smooth, round beans similar to the size of peas. Soybeans are usually planted each spring, and they grow in pods on bushy, green plants.

Soybean close up (Photo by M. Nash)

In the fall, the soybeans dry out, turn brown and are harvested. After harvest, the beans are crushed to separate the soy protein from the soybean oil. Soy protein is used in food products and to feed animals.

Soybeans ready for harvest

The first domestication of soybean has been traced to the eastern half of North China in the eleventh century B.C. or perhaps a bit earlier. Soybean has been one of the main plant foods of Asia along with rice, soybeans, wheat, barley and millet.

The first use of the word "soybean" in U.S. lit­erature was in 1804. However, it is thought that soybean was first introduced into the American Colonies in 1765 as "Chinese vetches" . Early authors mentioned that soybeans appeared to be well adapted to Pennsyl­vania soil. An 1879 report from the Rutgers Agri­cultural College in New Jersey is the first reference that soybeans had been tested in a scientific agri­cultural school in the United States.

Some of the benefits of soybeans:

• Soybeans can produce at least twice as much protein per acre than any other major vegetable or grain crop, 5 to 10 times more protein per acre than land set aside for grazing animals to make milk, and up to 15 times more protein per acre than land set aside for meat production.
• Soybeans are used in the five major markets currently dependent on petroleum products including: plastics, coatings, and ink, adhesives, lubricants, and solvents.
  
• Approximately 98 percent of the soybean meal that is crushed is further processed into animal feed.
• World soybean production has increased by over 500 percent in the last 40 years.
• In 2011, U.S. farmers planted 74.97 million acres of soybeans – the sixth highest total as tabulated by the USDA.
• About 85 percent of the world’s soybeans are processed, or crushed, annually into soybean meal and oil.
• When used as an ingredient, soy can often improve the functional properties of foods.  For instance, fried donuts absorb less fat, and white bread appears whiter.
• Textured soy protein used as a meat alternative has the texture of meat but has no cholesterol and little saturated fat.
• When compared to meat proteins – the cost per pound is significantly less and you get double the volume when you rehydrate it – so is half that cost!
• Soy is an excellent source of a complete protein which is unique among plant sources.
• There is evidence suggesting that exposure to soy during childhood and/or adolescence reduces breast cancer risk later in life.

Now, when you pass one those fields of brown pea like pods you'll know the plants that were growing there and appreciate their significance.


Additional Information

Natioanl Soybean Research Laboratory

Cooking with Soy

Soybean History

Soybean Growth and Development