North Dakota's lieutenant governor says four Midwestern companies have a $5 million deal to export about 275,000 bushels of soybeans to South Korea for tofu products.

Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple said SB&B Foods of Casselton, Brushvale Seed of Wahpeton-Breckenridge, SunOpta of Moorhead, Minn., and The DeLong Co., Inc., of Clinton, Wis., will sell the so-called "identity-preserved" soybeans to the Korean Federation of Soybean-Curd Industry Cooperatives, which represents 12 Korean tofu-processing groups.

Identity-preserved crops are grown under specific instructions, usually under contract, and can be tracked to the field where they were grown. Officials say they bring a premium price.

Associated Press