Corn and Soybean Growers Helped by Boost in Meat Exports

ICMC President Mike Beard

Talking about the corn and soybean markets lately has meant talking about the potential for very large crops, and that tone hasn’t changed with this week’s steadiness in the corn crop condition and one percent improvement in the soybean condition. But the market needs to know where all that production is going.

USDA is projecting total U.S. red meat and poultry product exports this year will be 18.4 billion pounds, about 7.5 percent more than last year. This extra demand for meat helps more than just livestock producers. Corn growers need the help because of those growing conditions and likely huge pile of corn to harvest on top of fairly large old crop stocks.

“So, here we go again,” says Indiana corn grower Mike Beard from Frankfort. He says if we keep developing demand for U.S. meat products overseas and producing more to meet that demand, “It’s going to reduce the pile of corn and increase the demand.”

Indiana farmer Mark Legan says it will also help “keep soybean demand strong.”

Legan, with the Indiana Soybean Alliance adds it took a lot of soybean meal just to produce the pork that went into export last year. “That equates to over 89 million bushels of beans.”

Pork exports this year could top last year by 19 percent according to USDA.

Source: USDA

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