Soybeans originated in Southeast Asia and were first domesticated by Chinese farmers around 1100 BC.  By the first century AD, soybeans were grown in Japan and many other countries.

Soybean seed from China was planted by a colonist in the British colony of Georgia in 1765.  Benjamin Franklin sent some soybean seeds to a friend to plant in his garden in 1770.   Soy sauce had been popular in Europe and the British colonies in America before soybean seeds arrived.  It wasn't until 1851 that soybean seeds were distributed to farmers in Illinois and the corn belt states.  This seed was a gift from a crew member rescued from a Japanese fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean in 1850.  In 1879  a few brave farmers began to plant soybeans as forage for their livestock. The plants flourished in the hot, humid summer weather characteristic of northeastern North Carolina. By the turn of the century, the US Department of Agriculture was conducting tests on soybeans and encouraging farmers to plant them as animal feed.

In 1904, the famous American chemist, George Washington Carver (pictured right) discovered that soybeans are a valuable source of protein and oil. He also realized the importance of good quality soil. Mr. Carver encourage farmers to "rotate" their crops. That means to plant peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes or other plants that would replenish the soil with nitrogen and minerals for two years. Then the third year plant cotton. To the surprise of many farmers, this produced a far better cotton crop than they had seen for many years!

In 1919, William Morse, co-founded the American Soybean Association and became its first president. At this time, there were only 20 known varieties of soybeans. In 1929, Mr. Morse spent two years researching soybeans in China. He gathered more that 10,000 soybean varieties for US researchers to study. Mr. Morse understood that more varieties meant more production and would help America become a world leader in soybean production.

Henry Ford is known for his automobile but did you know that he once made a car with all the plastic made from soybeans - even the automobile's exterior? Mr. Ford owned a large research facility. He came to the lab one day with a huge bag of soybeans. He dumped them out on the floor and told the scientists, "You guys are supposed to be smart. You ought to be able to do something with them." In time, the scientists in Ford's labs made a strong enough plastic for the gearshift knobs, horn buttons, window frames, accelerator pedals, light-switch assemblies and ignition-coil casings. They also fashioned the exterior of an automobile from "soybean plastic." By 1935 Mr. Ford was using one bushel of beans for every car he manufactured. (60 pounds = 1 bushel) The picture above shows Mr. Ford swinging an axe at an automobile to show how tough the plastic was.

It wasn't until the 1940's that soybean farming really took off in America. Soybean fields in China - the major supplier of the world at that time - were devasted by World War II and internal revolution. The US farmers produced the needed soybeans.

American livestock - chickens, turkeys, cattle and hogs - consume about 25 million tons of soybean meal each year. No other high protein animal feed comes close. This boom in the use of soybean meal for livestock feed began in the 1950's and has not slowed down since.

Currently, thirty-one states in the United States grow soybeans. The top three producers in 2007 were Iowa producing 439 million bushels, Illinois producing 350 million bushels and Minnesota producing 252 million bushels in 2007. North Carolina produced 29 million bushels during the 2007 drought year. 

WORLD SOYBEAN PRODUCTION 2007

 

for a total of 8,077 million bushels of soybeans! Now, that's a lot of BEANS!