As Biofuel Demand Intensifies, Nutrien Acquires Soybean Breeder

Nutrien subsidiary Loveland Products has acquired a key soybean breeding program from BASF as part of its strategy to bolster its portfolio of seed products.

Through this deal, Nutrien gains seed breeding sites in Marion, Arkansas, and Leland, Mississippi, which will enable it to develop soybean varieties specifically tailored to row crop growers in the U.S. South.

Loveland’s Dyna-Grow brand already includes breeding programs for rice and cotton aimed at the Southern market, and adding soybeans to the fold is a next step as farmers are planting more soybeans to keep pace with growing demand from the biofuels industry on top of animal feed and human food ingredient needs.

Twenty years ago, nearly zero U.S. soybean oil went toward biofuel production, according to the USDA, which stated that in 2021-2022 almost 40 percent of domestic production of soybean oil was used to produce biofuels as state and federal policies promote the industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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