5 considerations of managing high-oleic soybeans

By Noah Litherland, Ph.D., Vita Plus dairy technical specialist

The 2025 growing season had more Midwest acres planted with high-oleic soybeans than ever before, demonstrating producers’ booming interest in this crop and the potential economic benefits for a farm’s nutrition program.

Compared to conventional soybeans, high-oleic soybeans have a lower proportion of linoleic acid (C18:2, a polyunsaturated fat) and a greater proportion of oleic acid (C18:1, a monounsaturated fat). Researchers at Cornell University, Michigan State University and Penn State University have demonstrated feeding linoleic acid has the potential to lower de novo fatty acid synthesis by the mammary gland. This results in reduced milkfat. In contrast, dietary oleic acid tends to maintain or boost milkfat yield.

Thus, high-oleic soybeans offer the opportunity to feed more homegrown protein and fat. In turn, this can lower the cost of dietary fat by partially replacing purchased fat with high-oleic soybeans and/or provide the option to feed more fat to raise the energy density of lactating cow diets.

Farms should consider the following five factors to determine how high-oleic soybeans can effectively fit into their operation’s feeding and nutrition programs.

Cost of production

The first step is accurately calculating the cost of raising a bushel of soybeans.

If high-oleic soybeans are roasted off-farm, the cost of production should include transportation to and from the roaster, storage, roasting and grinding fees, and shrink.

Producers investing in on-farm roasting should evaluate costs of storing high-oleic soybeans (both raw and processed soybeans), cleaning, roasting, grinding, energy, transportation, maintenance, equipment depreciation, labor and lab testing to evaluate the finished product.

Effective processing

Soybeans can be a significant source of lysine in dairy cattle diets. Heat-treating soybeans increases the rumen protection of protein, thus raising the bypass of lysine through the rumen so it can be absorbed in the small intestine and then circulated in the body.

Consistently achieving the ideal roasting temperature and time is paramount in gaining the maximal value from high-oleic soybeans. Work with a commercial lab to determine roasting effectiveness with the protein dispersibility index (PDI) or the in situ 16-hour ruminally undegraded protein (RUP) test.

A unique nutrient profile

Oleic acid in dairy cattle diets tends to boost fatty acid digestibility, milk and milk component production, and supports energy balance in fresh cows, which could have positive long-term effects on cow health, reproductive efficiency and peak milk yield.

High-oleic soybeans offer a unique blend of protein (both RDP and RUP), fat and fiber concentration. Adding high-oleic soybeans into the lactating cow diet will likely displace a portion of soybean meal, extruded soybeans, soy hulls and/or commercial fat. High-oleic soybeans are drier than soybean meal or extruded soybeans and thus will supply about 5% greater dry matter (DM). Also consider the differences in typical fat, protein and fiber content.

Changes in feeding logistics

If processing high-oleic soybeans on-farm, the base protein mix purchased from a mill will be more concentrated since at least a portion of some ingredients will be replaced with high-oleic soybeans. This may result in a lower base-mix feeding rate and longer time between deliveries.

Creating a surge mix on-farm with the base mix and high-oleic soybeans can be a good option as well. Continue to evaluate the quality of these ingredients and the overall impact on nutrient availability to the cows.

Changes in cash flow

Grain-banking high-oleic soybeans will lower off-farm costs throughout the inventory’s life but will likely drop cash liquidity in the short term following harvest. Review the return on investment of roasting equipment compared with feed cost savings and shifts in cow performance.

Fluctuations in the price of conventional soybeans and supplemental fat will affect the value of high-oleic soybeans for your operation, so it is important to continually watch these prices.

Work with a nutritionist experienced in leveraging high-oleic soybeans’ unique nutrient profile to optimize milk production and overall feed costs.

Used by permission from the April 10, 2026, issue of Hoard’s Dairyman. Copyright 2026 by W.D. Hoard & Sons Company, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.