The Soybean Industry – With Special Reference to the Competitive Position of the Minnesota Producer and Processor

The Soybean Industry was first published in 1952. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

The rapid development of the soybean industry in the United States is reflected in the growth of the industry in Minnesota, a state that now ranks sixth in total production. This state was one of the last to develop a soybean crop, but in the decade from 1940 to 1950 the dollar value of its crop rose from $76,000 to $37,000,000.

Because the industry is a new and important one on the agricultural front, producers and processors in the industry, as well as members of the grain trade and agricultural economists, are faced with the problem of ascertaining the probably future trends of the industry. This study provides a factual basis for the industry's future planning in Minnesota and in other major soybean-producing and processing states.

Since the total picture of supply and demand and the operation of the industry within a single state are interrelated and interdependent, the study describes the elements of production, utilization, and processing on international, national, and state levels. These factors are then correlated with significant aspects of transportation, storage, commodity markets, and price formulation for an analysis of the competitive position of the industry in Minnesota. In conclusion, the future of the industry as a whole as well as specifically in Minnesota is estimated.

Ray Goldberg is the George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. For a portion of the work published in this volume, he received a prize in the Uhlmann Awards Competition for research in grain marketing and agricultural economics.