The main deliverable will be identification and evaluation of soybean germplasm that is especially high in protein (an increase in seed greater than 5 percentage points of the average) and/or contain unique amino acid profiles useful to increase value of U.S. soybean meal
Germplasm with especially high protein and consequently low oil content may have been overlooked in long-standing quest to obtain acceptable Estimated Processed Value (EPV) where protein and oil standards have been set as “19-35” (19% oil and 35% protein – that in turn provide 48% meal-protein)
Also, some studies have shown negative correlation between oil content and certain amino acids – thus, evaluation for high protein/low oil may uncover unique and useful amino acid profiles worth exploiting.

Updated January 27, 2021:
March 15, 2020 Report
Moving forward, one unknown is how best to capture the value from high protein soybean meal. High protein meal may not be enough alone, it may be important to investigate other factors such as amino acid composition, based on a percentage of total crude protein or perhaps other factors play an even more important role. Previous research has shown that decreasing crude protein, while supplementing amino acid concentrations to maintain optimal dietary levels, can cause a decrease in weight gain in broilers. In this study the amount of soybean meal in the diet was decreased to obtain decreasing levels of crude protein. A similar observation was reported when evaluating soybean meal with varying levels of protein content. The amount of soybean meal in each diet was adjusted to obtain 20% crude protein. So, as the protein content in the meal increased, the amount of soybean meal in each diet decreased. As the amount of soybean meal decreased, so did broiler weight gain, while feed intake increased. However, in this study amino acid levels were not considered when formulating the diet, only crude protein was used. In another study a protein supplement was used to maintain crude protein levels, while decreasing soybean meal concentration. The authors of this study also reported less weight gain in broilers feed a diet that contained a decreased level of soybean meal, while supplementing crude protein. So, for this project it will be important to not only evaluate protein and oil concentration and agronomic performance, but to investigate other important nutritional factors that may be vital for utilizing high meal protein.

Updated January 27, 2021:
September 15, 2020 Report
High value soybeans are a desirable trait today. The main focus of this project is to develop high protein/low oil lines. However, one objective is to improve the nutritional content. One way to accomplish this goal is to combine the high protein/low oil trait with improved oil traits. Since the meal being developed from this project has to be marketed as identify preserved material, adding more value to the oil may also help to further increase the value. And as we collect more data, we will be able to identify or validate which lines are the best candidates, based on field data and lab analysis, for making future cross combinations. One important factor to keep in mind will be to determine which amino acid profile is the most valuable and if there is a difference in amino acid concentration among high protein/low oil lines? Previous research has shown that the protein content in commercially produced soybeans has gone down over the last few decades. We want to determine how varieties produced 10-20 or even 30 years ago compare with our new high protein/low oil lines under development and do we need to consider any additional traits or potential problems moving forward?
Everything in the field looks good so far, most material is just now filling pods in the Southeast. So, we are not in the clear yet, especially since plentiful rainfall this season has caused good plant growth. A good growing season usually equals good yields, but it also means the plants are more subject to damage from hurricanes and tropical depressions. In a few weeks most tests will begin to dry down and the threat from damage resulting from wind will be much less severe. We have been able to collect flower notes on all plots and soon we will be collecting maturity notes and then a short time later, harvest will begin. In the meantime, we have been working to determine what the next steps are for high protein, low oil soybeans. We want to make sure we are not just shooting for a single target without considering other important aspects. One aspect to consider is what are the current and possible future market demands and what will bring the most profit to farmers. We have started to evaluate the amino acid profile in relation to increasing protein content, but certain amino acids contain more value based on the intended end market, such as meal for swine and poultry diets. Are there amino acids that are important to both or have a higher cost associated with synthesizing? Is there an amino acid profile that is desirable to multiple markets? Another aspect is not only how stable high protein, low oil content is across environments, but is there an effect on abiotic stress tolerance. We are in the process of starting a greenhouse experiment where we will be examining the effect of drought and heat stress have on high protein, low oil soybeans and determining if there are any additional effects on seed composition. In addition to the testing of current varieties going well, the first step in the varietal development process to develop new soybean varieties was a success this summer. We were able to successfully produce seed of >100 new lines, from bi-parental cross pollinations.

Updated December 7, 2021:
Soybean meal has played an important role in the livestock industry for many years, with more than 70% of the soybean meal produced in the US being used to feed livestock. Today, the market for soybean meal is expanding. There is a growing interest in the soybean protein in new food systems which include plant-based protein. There has also been a growing interest in soybean meal with >50% meal protein, which could potentially add more value to the soybean crop. While the price of soybean oil is higher than soybean meal, the amount of meal produced is over four times as much as oil. This translates to soybean meal contributing the bulk of the crushing value of soybean on a per bushel basis. So, just a one cent per pound change in soybean meal prices could have 2.5 times the impact on soybean prices when compared to one percent change in soybean oil. Based on the results of the Soybean Quality Report in 2020, by Seth Naeve, the protein concentration was down and the oil content was up in soybeans produced in the US. Oil was up 1.6 points and protein was down 1.2 points. Maintaining soybean protein concentrations in soybean is extremely important in keeping soybean competitive on the world market. Unfortunately, many high protein, low oil lines were discarded in earlier breeding cycles because of an emphasis on high protein, while maintaining at least 18% oil. The goal of this project is to not only increase the protein content beyond the 48% meal protein, but to improve the quality of the protein. We are very encouraged by the data we have been able to collect so far. We have been able to identify numerous breeding lines with high protein >40% and extremely high meal protein (>55%), with yields at or above check cultivars. We have also started to evaluate lines for amino acid composition as well as for protein and oil content. Since amino acids are the key component for the growth and development of animals, soybeans are considered one of the best sources of protein because they contain key amino acids. Key amino acids in soybean meal used for animal feed include arginine, lysine, threonine, methionine and tryptophan. Preliminary results reveal that arginine levels increase as protein levels increase, whereas there are small decreases in cysteine, lysine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan. However, these trends are not absolute. Some lines with a meal protein content of only 46% had amino acid concentrations similar to lines with >50% meal protein. Our research does suggest that, similar to amino acid concentrations in soybean lines containing 46-50% meal protein, there is also variation among lines containing >50% meal protein. It does appear that fewer lines are able to maintain the desired amino acid concentrations when meal protein is >50%. More research is needed to fully understand what amino acid concentrations are preferred by the animal feed industry compared to crude protein content and the stability of the amino acid profile across multiple testing environments. In addition, over 100 lines were requested from the Germplasm Information Network (GRIN). Lines were selected with a protein concentration of at least 47.4% and an oil concentration in the range of 14.1 to 16.1%. All of the GRIN lines were divided up and sent to the collaborator with the most representative environment suited for the maturity group (MG). MG 00-I were grown in MN, II-IV were grown in IL and MG V-IX were grown in NC. Seeds were harvested from each accession so that their oil and protein compositions in two very different growing seasons could be analyzed to confirm the stability of their low oil and/or high protein contents. Data for agronomically important traits like lodging, shattering and pod set were also collected on the PIs. The PIs that had desirable morphological and agronomically important traits were crossed with high-yielding breeding lines in 2020 and 2021. These PIs were crossed with elite lines that performed well in multi-state regional yield tests. In addition, some elite lines have Glycine soja accessions in their pedigrees and some have pedigrees with more than 50% exotic ancestry, mostly from East Asian germplasm accessions. Many of the F1 plants from these crosses were either backcrossed once to their elite parent or were crossed to a different elite parent in a three-way cross to produce progeny that would inherit an average of 75% of their genes from their high-yielding adapted parents. Populations derived from these crosses can potentially be used for mapping novel QTLs associated with lower oil and/or higher protein in seeds, as well as for developing new lines with higher seed protein content. A high percentage of the elite lines used for crossing in this project already have exotic progenitors in their pedigrees, so the breeding lines developed in this project represent truly unique germplasm that is different from virtually anything else available in the United States.