SOYBEANS: `MIRACLE CROP' GROWS

The soybean has often been referred to as the "miracle crop."

The world's foremost provider of protein and oil, the soybean -- second largest cash crop in the U.S. -- is grown by more than 380,000 farmers in 29 states, and has hundreds of uses.

Soybean products can be found everywhere from the dinner table to furniture to gravel roads, and researchers are finding new uses for the diverse farm commodity every year.

Cooking oils, mayonnaise, salad dressings, baby food, candy products and meat products are just a few of the edible uses of soybeans. Other feed uses include foods for bees, fish, poultry, swine and cattle. Add to this list the many technical uses -- dust control agents, inks, paints, diesel fuel, plastic, and the market for soybeans is a growing one.

Soybeans are one of Southeast Missouri's largest agricultural products, with more than 30 million bushels produced each year. Six area counties are ranked among the top 10 soybean-producing counties in the state. In recent years Pemiscot County has been a soybean leader, with more than 165,000 acres producing more than 5.6 million bushels. Other big soybean counties include New Madrid, Mississippi, Stoddard, Butler County, Dunklin and Scott. Cape Girardeau County raises from 35,000 to 40,000 acres of soybeans yearly.

Statewide, Missouri ranges from 3.5 million to 4.2 million acres of soybeans a year, with production from 117 million to more than 150 million bushels a year.

The livestock industry is one of the larger users of soybeans. Some 95 percent of all soy meal is used for livestock feed. The nation's poultry eats about half of it, followed by swine, dairy and beef cattle.

American consumers use an average of 260 pounds of soybeans a year. Literally hundreds of products humans eat every day contain soy protein and soy oil. Americans also eat soybeans in their meat and dairy products.