The USDA on Nov. 6 released select commodity tables from its USDA Agricultural Projections to 2030 report, which is scheduled to be released in full in February 2021. The report predicts a slight growth in soybean oil use for biodiesel over the next decade.

According to the USDA’s projections, soybean planted area is expected to increase over the next decade. Planted acres were at 76.1 million in 2019-’20 and are expected to reach 83.1 million in 2020-’21, grow to 89 million in 2021-’22, reach 90 million in 2022-’23 and 2023-’24, reach 90.5 million in 2024-’25 and 2025-’26, fall to 90 million in 2026-’27 and remain at that level through 2023-’31. Similarly, harvested soybean acres were at 74.9 million in 2019-’20, are expected to reach 82.3 million in 2021-’21, increase to 88.2 million in 2021-’22, be at 89.2 million in 2021-’22, reach 89.2 million in 2022-’23 and 2023-’24, reach 89.7 million in 2024-’25 and 2025-’26, fall to 89.2 million in 2026-’27 and remain at that level through 2030-’31.

Soybean yields are expected to increase relatively steadily over the next decade. Yields were at 47.4 bushels per harvested acre in 2019-’20 and are expected to reach 55.6 bushels per acre by 2030-’31.

The volume of soybean oil going to biodiesel production is also expected to increase over the next 10 years. An estimated 7.85 billion pounds of soybean oil went to biodiesel production in 2019-’20. That volume is expected to increase to 8.1 billion pounds in 2020-’21, 8.15 billion pounds in 2021-’22, 8.2 billion pounds in 2022-’23, 8.25 billion pounds in 2023-’24, 8.3 billion pounds in 2024-’25, 8.35 billion pounds in 2025-’26, 8.4 billion pounds in 2026-’27, 8.45 billion pounds in 2027-’28, 8.5 billion pounds in 2028-’29, 8.55 billion pounds in 2029-’30, and 8.6 billion pounds in 2030-’31.

Additional information is available on the USDA website.