Organic soybean production in Switzerland

Abstract

Organic Soybean cultivation experiences an upscale at the moment in Switzerland. As in the rest of Europe, Switzerland is still heavily dependent on protein imports. After years of stakeholders efforts of the development of a value chain for organic soybeans for human nutrition, various attempts to develop the soybean cultivation for feed proved to be fruitful despite the fact that Swiss price level is beyond competition for world market prices. The organic farmers themselves decided to become, at least partially, more independent from overseas soybean imports by opting for organic soybeans of European origin since 2019. Furthermore, Bio Suisse decided that from 2022 on, all ruminants under Bio Suisse certification must be fed with feed of Swiss origin, concentrates are limited to 5% of the ration. Since many years numerous projects are carried out to increase the domestic protein production by developing suitable production systems for peas, faba beans, lupines and soybeans with stakholders along the value chain. Since more than 30 years, Swiss breeders successfully develop 00 to 000 soybean varieties with a focus on human nutrition, organic soybean cultivation and the respective value chains from breeding to endproduct is developing strongly. This article will shed light on particular aspects and drivers, specific measures, relevant projects and cultivation techniques of organic soybean production in Switzerland in the past years and will give an outlook on the future of organic soybeans.

Future area expansion outweighs increasing drought risk for soybean in Europe

“…It is difficult to predict the economic success of soybean in Europe and the extent to which self‐sufficiency goals can be met for two major reasons: First, our simulations show that many regions in northern Europe are likely to become suitable for soybean production. However, whether or not farmers would actually start growing soybean depends on (i) the competitiveness of soybean with current dominant cereals, which are likely to remain high‐yielding until the mid‐century at least (Hristov et al, 2020), (ii) the agronomic options of including soybean in crop rotations (Reckling et al, 2016) and (iii) the development of the demand for soybean for human consumption, which could generate attractive prices for non‐genetically modified soybeans (Klaiss et al, 2020). The second reason for the difficulty in predicting economic success is that soybean is not the only crop that can meet protein demands.…”

“…Where sufficient water is available in water bodies, irrigation is used to mitigate this risk. Current breeding efforts have concentrated on developing more drought‐tolerant varieties as well as on weed‐suppressing traits (Klaiss et al, 2020), especially for organic production systems. Rainfall during the later phase of the season, however, can have negative effects on the production process.…”

RNA-seq datasets of field soybean cultures conditioned by Elice16Indures® biostimulator

“…The demand for GM-free soy is rapidly increasing involving high impact on organic production [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] . Therefore, biostimulator products that may protect plants from a broad range of pathogens (by activating the plant immune system) are of major agricultural importance [5] , [6] , [7] .…”

A Comparative Analysis of Plant-Based Milk Alternatives Part 2: Environmental Impacts

“…In addition, under Swiss conditions, the green manure in organic soybean production, as well as partly lower soil cover in winter, can lead to a higher risk of nitrogen leaching. Additionally, the application of liquid manure as low starter fertilization, to support the initial growth of soy in cold soils where symbiosis is delayed, might also increase nitrogen leaching [68]. The high marine eutrophication potential of the almond drink reflects the intensive nitrogen fertilization required for fruit growth [63].…”