Soybean

An Asian legume that has become, alongside maize, the second mainstay of Midwestern farming.

An annual of the legume family growing to about 1 m, with hairy stems, trifoliate leaves and small white or purple flowers. The hairy pods usually contain 2–4 seeds rich in protein (about 35–40%) and oil (about 20%). Like other legumes it lives in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing nodule bacteria, so it works well in rotation with cereals. It comes from East Asia, where it was domesticated several thousand years ago. Oil is pressed from the seeds, and soybean meal is the main protein ingredient of animal feed.

Significance in the country

Together with Brazil, the USA is the world’s largest producer and exporter of soybeans; the crop spread in the 20th century, and on Corn Belt farms soybeans usually alternate with maize from year to year. A huge share of the harvest is exported, mainly to China.

Where it grows

Above all the Midwestern states – Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Nebraska and Ohio – as well as the Mississippi valley and the central Atlantic seaboard.

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