Demand for Canadian non-genetically modified soybeans is rising as supplies tighten and premiums become more attractive to growers, crop advisor Andrew Hodges of Ceresco said at a Farms.com event, the 2026 Great Ontario Yield Tour, Farms.com reported on 29 October.
Ceresco, a Canadian company operating since the early 1980s, specialises in non-GMO soybeans for domestic and export markets. It has committed about $6 million to its main cleaning plant at St. Albert, Ontario, raising capacity from nine to 20 tons an hour and adding storage, a larger unloading pit, upgraded grain handling and a continuous-flow dryer. The site can pack beans for export in several formats.
Hodges said the company handles about 85,000 acres of soybeans a year, more than 60,000 of them in Ontario and Quebec, and its purchases rose 15% in 2025 and another 20% in 2026. Some beans become soya grits for Europe, while specialty tofu and natto varieties go mainly to Japan. Small-seeded natto beans can earn substantial premiums even with slightly lower yields, tofu beans are valued for protein, colour and taste, and higher-yielding non-GMO varieties serve European crushing and animal feed.
Growers moving into identity-preserved soybeans were told to start with clean fields, because weeds can cut yields and eat into contract premiums, and to choose varieties for their fields, expected yields and premiums. Sustainability certification has helped Ceresco reach European buyers, who increasingly want such documentation, and newer varieties offer better disease and nematode resistance.
Photo: Mykola Swarnyk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Farms.com
Comments
(0)