A Patent with Potential
Missouri soybean farmers’ efforts to support innovation has resulted in U.S. Patent No. 9,035,129, issued in 2015 for a method to produce soybeans with high oleic acid content developed through soybean breeding. Those beans’ oil contains as much as 80-85 percent oleic acid, significantly exceeding the industry’s 70 percent standard for high oleic. The Curators of the University of Missouri and the USDA Agricultural Research Service are joint owners of the patent, and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council (MSMC) is the exclusive licensee. The patented process is the product of a partnership between the University of Missouri (MU), USDA, MSMC and United Soybean Board.
Missouri’s soybean farmers continue to invest in their future through research, and bringing this technology to the marketplace is a direct result of their dedication to long-term competitiveness for soy.
Preliminary data and comparisons from high oleic varieties:
*Representative of preliminary data. Extensive plot data is currently being collected for 2017. ** This is a representative range of lines to be released for commercialization in the coming years. ***United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil. United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Processed Products Branch. Effective October 25, 2010. Page 10.
Advancing the Technology
Through traditional soybean breeding and winter nurseries, Missouri’s soybean farmers have moved the non-transgenic high oleic traits forward, creating opportunities for new partnerships. In early 2017, John Schillinger and Schillinger Genetics, Inc. received the first license to commercialize the high oleic soybean technology traits and to breed soybean varieties combining high oleic and low linolenic soybean oil traits. Prospective partners in this high oleic technology may pursue a Material Transfer Agreement from MU, or a sub-license from MSMC.