Soy food professionals explore IP supply chain at NCI course

Northern Crops Institute (NCI) welcomed identity preserved agriculture and soy food industry professionals the week of Aug. 10 for the Food Soy Procurement Course. Participants from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and China traveled to Fargo, N.D., to learn more about sourcing and purchasing identity preserved soybeans for food applications.  

Through classroom learning, processor and farm visits and hands-on product demonstrations, the course provides a fork to farm look at the identity preserved soy value chain. Participants explore how U.S. identity preserved soybeans move from variety development and production through procurement, processing, export into finished food products. 

Presenters included U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance staff, Gary Williams and Shane Frederick, along with exporter members from HC International, Brushvale Seed and SB&B Foods. Sessions covered key procurement considerations, including pricing, contracts, transportation, storage, packaging and the economic value of identity preserved, food grade soybeans.  

The program also takes participants beyond the classroom. Tours of Brushvale Seed’s facility and soybean plots, as well as SB&B Foods’ processing facility, plots and fields, offer a firsthand look at the specialized systems that support food-grade soy production. 

NCI food technologists will lead demonstrations on soymilk and tofu quality testing, sensory evaluation and soy-food product tasting, reinforcing how bean selection and handling influence the performance and quality of final food products. 

The course was supported by the U.S. Soybean Export Council, Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, North Dakota Soybean Council and South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council.