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Soybean industry concerned over uncertainty

A policy expert says unknowns are weighing on the future of the soybean industry.              

“Unfortunately, there’s still quite a bit of uncertainty and uncertainty is our word of the year so far.”

Andrew Larson is director of government relations for the Illinois Soybean Association.

“Certainly, there’s a lot of uncertainty at the federal level coming out of the 45Z ruling that the Biden administration left the Trump administration to decipher and implement.”  He says, “We also have had long standing questions about whether 45Z is actually the right answer for soybeans.  Of course, soybeans get hit with a massive carbon intensity penalty.”

He tells Brownfield if that penalty stands in the final ruling, soybean growers and processors stand to lose.

“Soybean oil might only be eligible for as much as much as $0.30 per gallon of B100.”  He says, “That’s quite a bit lower than the dollar we were at and it’s going to have a very negative impact.”

Larson says the lack of direction is straining the biofuels industry, and thus impacting soybean demand and profitability.

Brownfield spoke with Larson at the 2025 Illinois Soybean Summit in Champaign.

AUDIO: Andrew Larson – Illinois Soybean Association