Studies Confirm: Pork Exports Help Soy Farmers

Apr 14, 2025

The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) released numbers earlier this month detailing how pork exports helped to benefit soybean producers for the 2024 fiscal year. According to an independent study conducted by the Juday Group, while soy prices alone were not ideal in 2024, pork exports helped fill the gap for producers looking to sell their beans.

“The soybean industry provides critical support for USMEF’s efforts to expand global demand for U.S. pork,” said John Hinners, USMEF senior vice president of industry relations John Hinners. “This study helps quantify the return on that investment.”

In 2024, swine used 17.1% of soybean meal produced for livestock, the second largest amount behind poultry. However, the pork export market expanded in 2024, leading to increased income for soy producers. Pork production increased by 13% from 2015, and pork exports increased by 42% in the same time period.

In Minnesota specifically, pork exports accounted for 7.6 million bushels of soybean usage in 2024. The market value of pork exports to Minnesota soybean farmers was equal to $84.45 million.

USMEF is a nonprofit trade association that works to create new opportunities and develop existing international markets for U.S. beef, pork and lamb.

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Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.