Hamlin County Farmer Collects Premium Growing Non-GMO Soybeans

A South Dakota farmer is earning a premium on every bushel of non-GMO soybeans he harvests. David Leiseth is adding to the profitability of his Hamlin County farm by raising soybeans that are not genetically modified. Most of those non-GMO soybeans, which have become the exception since genetically modified soybeans were introduced to the market in 1996, are scooped up by Brookings, South Dakota-based Houdek. That company’s precision fermented soybean meal is exported to feed millions of Norwegian salmon. Consumers of that salmon prefer fish raised on non-GMO feed ingredients.

“I've been growing non-GMO soybeans since 2015,” said Leiseth, during an interview with the South Dakota Soybean Network following a presentation he made at Mitchell, South Dakota, promoting the growth of non-GMO soybean acreage so that demand from Houdek can be filled. “I think it's a great program that we have available to us from South Dakota Soybean Processors, and now one of their big partners is Houdek.”

Most of the non-GMO soybeans that Leiseth grows eventually make it into the salmon rations manufactured by Houdek and exported to Norway. Leiseth and people from Houdek are featured on upcoming editions of the Soybean Pod available on most podcast provider platforms, and the South Dakota Soybean Network heard weekly on several South Dakota radio stations. The features are sponsored by South Dakota soybean farmers and their checkoff.

Leiseth, who also sells non-GMO soybean and corn seed to other farmers, says making a shift to non-GMO crops requires a different mindset.

“The biggest thing is that you have to think differently,” he said. “You have to be willing to scout more. You have to be willing to use (pre-plant herbicides) in a different way and be proactive on your post spray. Don't wait around for the weeds to show up. There's a lot of ways that you can do it and be successful. You just have to decide that ‘I'm going to do it,’ and you can.”

Leiseth is quick to admit that his primary motivation for growing non-GMO soybeans is that South Dakota Soybean Processors, where his beans are shipped, pays a premium for the sought-after non-GMO product.

“I figure, on 500 acres of soybeans you can net $50,000 over GMO soybeans,” he said, about the potential added profit from growing non-GMO soybeans. “They yield as good or better than the GMO soybeans. It just comes down to you have to take care of them differently because you don't have as many options with chemical. But still that profitability is a big deal on farm operations these days when profit margins are so narrow.”