STRICTLY BUSINESS: THE HOUSE THAT SOY BUILT

Soybeans aren't just for cattle and hogs anymore.

These days, they are found everywhere from gravel roads to houses.

The House That Soy Built, a 65-foot by 40-foot structure recently constructed at the Farm Science Review, an outdoor farm exhibition near London, Ohio, uses a number of soybean products.

The demonstration house, built by the Ohio Soybean Council and the United Soybean Board, features soy-based concrete sealer, finger-jointed lumber bonded with soy adhesive, carpet backing, soy plastics, particle-board, plywood, coatings, and other specialty soybean products, including solvents.

"The house will serve as a testing ground," said Greg Lammert, a spokesman for the project which started in late September. "The Farm Science Review presents an opportunity to demonstrate new uses for soybeans, and to support the development of commercial soy products for various market segments."

One of the recent developments of a soybean product is currently being used in the construction of a new condominium complex in suburban Seattle.

Wood joined by a soy-based adhesive developed by soybean checkoff-funded research is being used to provide superior structural support in the condo complex.

The same research which developed the new adhesive system is also being used to develop soy-based adhesives to make particleboard, plywood and oriented strand board. The wood adhesives market could annually use as much as 23 million bushels of U.S. soybeans by 2005.

The new adhesive, which is a combination of soy hydrolyzate and phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF), is used in a process to bond finger-jointed wood to form longer, stronger and straighter lumber. The soy adhesive is applied to one surface of the joint and mated with the other joint with the PRF, a standard petroleum-based adhesive material used for finger-jointing.

Called PRF/Soy 2000, the adhesive has received the Western Wood Products Association approval for vertical and horizontal use of dried and green wood. By using the adhesive, lumber mills can produce stronger and straighter pieces of lumber, including studs for use in home building.

"The house at the Farm Science Review in Ohio is more of a demonstration house," said Lammert. "A lot of soybean products were used in the construction, and more products will be added as they are tested."

Soy products have growing potential in several industrial markets, said Lammert. These include adhesives, coating and inks, lubricants, plastics and specially products including solvents.

"The House that Soy Built" is open for tours to show consumers alternatives to tradition petroleum or chemical based products.

"The development of new soybean uses, plus consumer acceptance of these soy products will help increase domestic U.S. soybean utilization, and U.S. soybean farmers' profit opportunity," said Lammert.

Products used to construct the model building are showcased inside the home.

The soy spotlight was on Southeast Missouri a half-dozen years ago when the area was a testing ground for a new soybean oil dust suppressant. The dust suppressant was sprayed on gravel roads in Scott, Pemiscot and New Madrid counties.

While food for livestock and poultry and oil for human nutritional products remains the mainstay of soybean use, a host of other new uses for soybeans will add significantly to the demand.

Soybeans already have well over 1,000 uses, with the list still growing.

Among the uses are:

* Livestock and poultry feed, the No. 1 use for soybeans.

* Human consumption, soybean products being used in numerous food products. Americans consume an average of 260 pounds of soybeans a year.

* SoyDiesel, made from processed soybean oil, is a clean-burning fuel, performs same as regular diesel with no differences in horsepower, miles-per-gallon or engine wear.

* SoyInk, offers superior color reproduction, has low-rub qualities and is environmentally friendly.

* Dust suppressants, being used on gravel roads and parking areas.

* Environ, new composite building materials made from soybean protein and waste paper, including newspapers, used in furniture, flooring, wall paneling and structural decorative components.

* Adhesives, big in the wood adhesive market.

* Plastics, research projects under way to develop low-density polyethylene plastic film for use in trash bags, grocery bags and diaper backings.

* Foams, another research project on soybean-based flexible and rigid polyurethane, which can be used in making everything from soles of shoes to refrigerator insulation to battleships.

* Polish, soybean oil is being used in the manufacturer of some polishes.

* Concrete form lubricants. As many as 2 million pounds a month are being used for concrete forms lubricants.

* Fertilizer, one of the newest uses for soybean meal, is an all-natural, soybean-based lawn and garden fertilizer.

Soybeans is one of Southeast Missouri's largest agriculture commodities. More than 25 million bushels of soybeans are produced in the region each year.

Five area counties are usually ranked among the top 10 soybean-producing counties in Missouri. Mississippi County was ranked number three last year, with 170,000 acres and more than 4.7 million bushels. Other big soybean producers include Stoddard, with more than 4.2 million bushels, and Pemiscot, with more than 3.6 million bushels. Scott and New Madrid counties are consistent 3-million bushel producers.

Cape Girardeau County raises from 50,000 to 43,000 acres of soybeans, producing about 1.4 million bushels a year.

Statewide, Missouri ranged from 5 million to 5.5 million acres of soybeans a year, with production of more than 150 million bushels a year.