Growing IN Agriculture

98% of U.S. Soybean Meal Consumed By Livestock & Poultry
Livestock and grain farmers are the lifeblood of our rural communities.  However, in recent years, animal agriculture has faced pressure from activists over issues like animal welfare, odor and environmental concerns. Since U.S. livestock and poultry consume 98 percent of U.S soybean meal, struggles of the animal agriculture industry are felt by the U.S. soybean industry as well.

Indiana soybean farmers understand the vital importance of their number one customer and have made growing the state’s livestock industry a top priority of the Indiana Soybean Alliance’s (ISA) soybean checkoff strategic plan.

Soybean meal serves as the leading source of protein for livestock and poultry. The soybean checkoff invests in research to make soybean meal an even healthier feed option.  While soybean meal is not a primary source of energy in animal feeds, the new demand for corn for biofuels warrant research to improve the level of nutritional energy provided by soybean meal. The soybean checkoff helps to fund that research, as well as research to develop feed solutions to maximize animal digestion efficiencies and reduce environmental impact.

Livestock and Poultry Pump Money into Rural America
Finding ways to increase economic growth in rural America is a challenge most states face. However, the answer may have been in the rural communities all along, in the form of livestock and poultry producers.

Indiana livestock and poultry producers purchase nearly 900,000 tons of locally grown soybean meal to feed their dairy cows, beef cattle, chickens and hogs. And, that’s just part of their economic impact. They also account for over 42,000 jobs statewide. And generate more than $210 million in tax revenue.

Nationally, animal agriculture created over $74 billion in earnings that resulted in over $400 billion in economic output in the United States. This means that animal agriculture and related industries generated $400 billion into the economy. Livestock and poultry production created 2.9 million jobs in the United States, according to the Animal Agriculture Economic Analysis Update, a report by Promar International for the United Soybean Board (USB). To put the economic output in perspective, the automotive industry accounted for $344 billion in 2002, according to a report by the Center for Automotive Research.

Indiana Home To Vibrant Soy Processing Industry
Indiana is blessed with a strong soybean processing industry.  Indiana soybean farmers have strong local markets for soybeans that include plants owned by ADM, Cargill, Bunge, Rose Acres Poultry Farms, and Consolidated Grain & Barge.  These plants, in communities like Frankfort, Decatur, Lafayette, Morristown, Seymour and Mt. Vernon, are providing hundreds of jobs in rural communities as well as providing a locally-produced supply of soybean meal for our livestock industry.

A strong and growing soybean industry and livestock industry are yielding more growth and investment in our industry.  In 2007, the international company, Louis Dreyfus,  opened one of the country’s largest soybean processing and biodiesel facilities in Claypool, Indiana.  This new plant, alone, will produce an additional 1 million tons of soybean meal a year.  When Dreyfus picked Indiana as the site for their $100 million investment, they did so knowing there was a growing livestock industry.

Indiana Soybean Industry Facts:

• 60,000 soybean farms produced 287 million bushels of soybeans.
• 98% of the soybean & livestock farms in the country are still family farms.
• 98% of the soybean meal produced in the U.S. is consumed by livestock & poultry.
• In Indiana, pigs eat 53% of the soybean meal produced and chickens eat 33%.
• Livestock and poultry operations also create jobs: 42,000 in Indiana.
• Commodity agriculture alone is 5% of the state’s Gross State Product.
• Grain & livestock farms and support industries drive much of Indiana’s rural economy with 35-60% of tax revenue generated from agriculture.
• Livestock has a large impact on the economy with direct investment and a 3-4x wage multiplier.
• Our beef, dairy and pork farms have been in decline.  Doubling pork production means trying to regain our pork inventory to what it was in the 1980’s. 

More Soy Meal Stats 

Animal Agriculture & The Soybean Industry 

Soymeal INFO Center 

2007 Soy Stats 

Meat Exports Pump up Soybean Farmer Profits - Issue Paper  
 

Biodiesel’s Impact on Global Meal Markets & Livestock - News Release

Biodiesel’s Impact on Global Meal Markets & Livestock - Issue Paper

Listing of Proposed Biofuel Plants (Ethanol & Biodiesel) in Indiana