ASOYIA AND Dairyland Seed are working together to develop and market soybean germplasm for the ultralow-linolenic soybean market. The collaborators are trying to develop high-yielding soybeans with improved genetic packages that contain the 1% ultralow-linolenic soybean trait. The new genetics will add disease resistance and new desirable traits across diverse maturity ranges where soybeans are grown.

Oil from ultralow-linolenic soybeans is becoming increasingly popular in the food industry as an alternative to partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Asoyia's soybeans have 1% linolenic acid, compared to 7% that normally occurs in soybeans. This lower linolenic acid makes oil processed from these soybeans naturally stable without requiring hydrogenation. The absence of hydrogenation eliminates trans fatty acids; the FDA required food manufacturers to list trans fatty acids on all product labels beginning in January of this year, because they have been linked to increased cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart disease.