AUSSIE SOYBEAN INDUSTRY
SET TO GROW

7 November 2023

Australia’s soybean industry has set ambitious targets to increase plantings in coming seasons and has appointed its first ever Soybean Industry Development Officer to facilitate that growth.

Soy Australia, the peak industry body for the Australian soybean industry, believes the soybean industry is well positioned to double its annual production over the next decade and has appointed an Industry Development Officer to support this ambition.

According to Soy Australia Chair, Paul Fleming, a grower from the Northern New South Wales region, the organisation is investing in a part-time Soybean Industry Development Officer to help build broader awareness of agronomic best practice as well as the economic benefits of soybeans in the key growing regions such as the coastal regions of North Queensland, the Wide Bay-Burnett, the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, NSW Northern Tablelands and the Riverina region.

“The appointment of Bundaberg based soybean agronomist, Judy Plath, as our new Soybean Industry Development Officer will help the industry build grower knowledge in the agronomy of soybeans, develop strong links for growers within the grower regions, build awareness of soybeans in existing and newer growing regions and develop strong relationships with key industry partners to encourage partnering of projects that will benefit the soybean industry” said Mr Fleming.

“While the Australian soybean industry is small by global standards, it plays an important role in many farming systems across Australia and is increasingly providing a higher value crop option for growers” said Mr Fleming.

“Soy Australia believes the demand for non-GMO, Australian grown, good quality soybeans is strong, but we need to increase production if we hope to develop long term relationships with our end users” said Mr Fleming.

According to Mr Fleming, the new soybean varieties released over the past decade have been specifically developed to meet the various and growing needs of the end user market, both in Australia and abroad.

“The Australian domestic market relies heavily on locally grown soybeans for products such as soy milk, tofu, tempeh, flour and grits while markets such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan present significant growth opportunities” said Mr Fleming.

“The soybean industry has enjoyed strong prices in recent seasons, plus the development of new, more regionally diverse and herbicide tolerant varieties has increased the opportunity for soybeans in many farming systems” said Mr Fleming.

“We are very pleased that Judy has come on board to help extend the positive message about soybeans and to help growers optimise their productivity through learning about and adopting best practice” Mr Fleming said.

Mrs Plath has been involved in the coastal Wide Bay soybean industry for twenty years; first an agronomist and then, as a grower.

“I began promoting soybeans as an ideal legume break crop for sugarcane in the Wide Bay area in 2003” said Mrs Plath “Over time I married into a local cane farming family and have seen firsthand the benefits that soybeans offer to our farming system and our bottom line”.

“Over the years I have been involved in all aspects of the soybean industry – from agronomy to variety trials to integrated pest management to marketing” said Mrs Plath.

“It’s an absolute honour for me to join the Soy Australia team and start sharing the wonderful benefits of soybeans with more growers and more growing regions throughout Australia” said Mrs Plath.

Contact Soy IDO – Judy Plath on 0407 114 748