SOY CHECKOFF NEWSDecember 2012

“New Study Shows U.S. Soy’s Success Linked to Animal Agriculture”

The animal agriculture SECTOR faces many challenges today, with feed prices and OTHER input costs RISING. The challenges THAT POULTRY AND LIVESTOCK FARMERS FACE could ALSO impact U.S. soybean farmers.

The Soy Checkoff RECENTLY RELEASED a study analyzing the economic impact of animal agriculture on soybean FARMERS. UNITED SOYBEAN BOARD Director and South Dakota Soybean Farmer Lewis Bainbridge says U.S. animal ag is the number one customer for U.S. soybean farmers, using nearly 30-million tons of soy meal last year, which is the meal from 1.27-billion bushels of soybeans.

Lewis Bainbridge, United Soybean Board director:

“Worldwide, it’s a huge consumer, too, of our soybean meal and so forth. So we just really need to be sensitive to what’s going on in the animal ag industry and make sure that we are providing the adequate amounts as well as the adequate quality of soybean meal for our livestock industry.” (:19)

Bainbridge says the Soy Checkoff supports LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY FARMERS by working with the U.S. Meat Export Federation and USA Poultry and Egg export council. by increasing international demand for u.s. meat, milk and eggs, those projects also increase domestic demand for u.s. soy meal.

he says it’s important for individual farmers to embrace and support the expansion of animal ag.

In 2011, the economic benefits poultry, livestock and aquaculture provided at the national level included support for 1.7-million jobs, 333-billion dollars in total economic output, a 58-billion dollar impact on household incomes, and 18-billion dollars in income and property taxes paid.

Lewis Bainbridge, United Soybean Board director:

“I’m pleased that the numbers are that high and thankful that we do have the livestock industry that we have in this country. And hopefully we can grow that because, to me, it makes much more sense to ship out a value-added product, such as pork or poultry, as it does to ship out a boatload of beans. Certainly the export market of whole beans or bean meal is important, too, to our survivability and economic viability. But I am much happier to see a value-added product shipped out.” (:30)

For more information,visit United Soybean dot org (

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For more information, contact Paul Spooner at r call 1-888-235-4332.