More meat, more meal: Pork, soy exports crucial for industry growth

FLAT ROCK, Ind. — When it comes to soybean demand, meat exports are a big part of the equation.

Soybean meal is key to raising healthy hogs. And demand for pork exports has skyrocketed since Jim Douglas, an Indiana farmer and United Soybean Board director, started farming in 1976.

“Over 14 years, pork exports have increased quite dramatically,” said Douglas during a webinar hosted by AgriPulse. “It’s an interesting tale, when you look at the export value per head slaughtered from 1995 at $10 to 2023 at $67.”

“I started farming in 1976, I think if you looked at the charts back then it was zero dollars,” he said. “We’ve developed and became an exporter of these products, and it’s added tremendously to the value back to the farmer.”

Soybean farmers are longtime partners of international red meat promotion. Through checkoff funds, farmers make investments in programs managed by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

“2024 was a record year (for) pork and variety meats with shipments topping 3 million metric tons for the first time, valued at $8.6 billion,” Douglas said. “All of this contributes back to the U.S. farmer. Soy meal is the primary ingredient fed to the animals to grow this protein.”

More Good News

Pork demand in many countries has remained robust. Exports to Mexico are poised to set another record in 2025, while shipments are also on a record pace to Central America and Colombia, Douglas said.

“By the year’s end, USMEF projects pork exports will not quite match the record performance of last year, but will be very close,” he said.

Middle class populations in Asia, South America and Africa are showing more demand for pork.

“International customers are increasingly interested in the issues of food safety, sustainability and environmental stewardship,” Douglas said.

“So, the U.S. industry has made it a priority to educate importers, consumers and the production and processing practices that ensure the quality of U.S. red meat and set it apart from the competition.”

Viewpoints

During the webinar, several speakers shared their points of view about soybean demand. Here are a few takeaways.

“I’ll just highlight one investment right off the bat that I am excited about and happy that we were able to partake in, and that was when we were able to, through the check off, fund the research, analysis and design of a project in the Port of Houston. That project will help optimize and make soybean meal exports more efficient. It gives us an opportunity to utilize more of the soybeans in our country.”

Tony Mellenthin, USB director and Export Work Group lead

Wisconsin

“The World Initiative for Soy in Human Health is an exciting organization to be involved in. I represent USB on WISHH. And WISHH works in the developing and emerging markets, those that perhaps don’t normally come up when you’re talking trade markets. But the goal is to increase the utilization of U.S. soy in those emerging and developing markets in both feed and in food. They’re in 30 different markets including sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. In these areas we’re looking at food security, as well as nutritional needs and meeting some of those.”

Laurie Isley, USB director and World Initiative for Soy in Human Health committee member

Michigan

“As a member of the United Soybean Board, we have one seat on the executive council of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Our primary job is to look at different economies and decide where we’re going to spend our budget. There’s a lot of discussion and we have a lot of different avenues represented from beef cattle, lamb, pork to exporters and the people that facilitate that. They look at these economies and we decide where our money is going to be spent, what percent of it. You dig into the facts of what potential growth there is and what barriers you’re facing. And so that’s a good bit of the committee work. Then the staff carries on programs throughout the countries.”

Jim Douglas, USB director and U.S. Meat Export Federation former executive committee member

Indiana