Illinois Livestock Production Holds Long-Term Promise

Illinois livestock producers have battled red ink for more than a year.  Some have been forced to leave the industry.  But there may be light at the end of the tunnel.  Recent favorable court rulings and the logistics and feed advantages in Illinois, still make the state a prudent place for production.

“Opportunity in the face of opposition does exist,” says Nic Anderson, business developer for the Illinois Livestock Development Group (ILDG), which is supported by soybean checkoff dollars. “Good court decisions give meat, poultry and milk producers a reason to look forward with confidence.  Even though last year was a very difficult one financially, cost of production and transportation advantages in Illinois provide producers with a shot at profitability.”

Keeping the industry in Illinois is paramount.  Illinois livestock consume 31 million bushels of soybean meal equivalent annually.  The industry generates $3.4 billion in economic activity, $334 million in state tax revenue and 45,000 jobs.  Nationally, animal agriculture creates more than $75 billion in earnings for more than $400 billion in economic output.  That compares to $344 billion from the automotive industry in 2002, reports the Center for Automotive Research.

“Without livestock, there would be no soybean industry,” says Hans Stein, interim executive director, National Soybean Research Laboratory (NSRL) at the University of Illinois. “Grain and livestock farms and support industries drive much of the Illinois rural economy, with 35-60 percent of tax revenue generated from agriculture. They are the lifeblood of many communities.”

Since more than 90 percent of all soybean meal worldwide is consumed by livestock and poultry, the U.S. soybean industry is affected to a certain extent by struggles within the livestock industry, including ongoing court battles over nuisance and environmental issues.

However, three recent decisions in Illinois were in favor of livestock producers.  A Fifteenth Judicial Circuit judge in northern Illinois ruled that a case to stop construction of a large dairy near Nora, Ill., was “vague and lacked clarity.”  The operator, A.J. Bos, had been in court for about two years fighting a group of area residents and lobbyists known as Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards (HOMES), that wanted a permanent injunction against development.

“The Bos Dairy decision is a good one and a long time coming.  It follows decisions by other courts in the last year that allowed producer Bob Young to expand his hog operation in Sangamon County and Bible Pork, Inc., to operate a new facility in Clay County.  All of them are concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) under Livestock Management Facilities Act (LMFA) regulations in Illinois,” says Anderson.  “What they mean for Illinois livestock producers is that any size operation can continue to operate, as long as LMFA rules are followed and producers act responsibly.”

Anderson hopes the rulings will allow livestock producers to remain or expand in Illinois, where they are close to several transportation options and feed sources.”Illinois is fortunate to have a strong soybean processing industry.  Illinois soybean farmers have strong local markets for their soybeans that include plants owned by ADM, Cargill, Bunge and CGB,” says Stein.  ”These facilities in several rural communities provide locally-produced supplies of soybean meal and also provide hundreds of jobs in rural communities.”

Anderson agrees.  “It makes sense to raise livestock where soybeans are grown and use those products locally so the profits come back to everyone,” he says.  “We still need to and want to service international markets, but there is reward in servicing local markets, too.  Livestock is still the number one market and we must rely on domestic livestock production and not overseas livestock producers to maintain our local income streams and rural infrastructure.”

The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) is working with NSRL on several fronts to enhance the partnership with livestock producers.  Stein, an associate animal nutrition professor, has expertise in feed ingredient evaluation and nutrient utilization in pigs and other animal species.  He notes that in the United States alone, more than 100 million pigs are produced every year, and nearly all are produced on diets containing soybean meal as the primary protein source.

“I am working on research involving feeding weanling pigs enzymatically treated or fermented soybean products,” he says.  “They include a better composition of amino acids and have higher digestibility versus crude soy protein.  I am measuring the digestibility of nutrients and energy.”

Stein’s research takes into account new soybean varieties with specific nutritional characteristics that influence the quality of soybean meal produced from the beans.  Examples of such varieties include soybeans with higher protein concentration or lower concentrations of oligosaccharides.  Stein continues to explore the nutritional value of these versus conventional soybeans.

“I plan to disseminate existing information about soy research and outcomes that will educate and enlighten farmers and those  in the animal feed and soybean industries,” he says.  ”When new research becomes available, I also want to find rapid, innovative channels for publicizing findings and translate research into Chinese and Spanish for worldwide benefits.”

With world population exploding, Stein sees a good fit for NSRL’s soy-related efforts to be shared globally.  A growing population may mean that animal protein production around the world will need to double, which means that feed grain demand also could double.

“Improved economic standards lead to increased demand for high-quality animal protein.  A demand-driven livestock supply expansion will require dramatically improved productivity on a global scale,” he says.  ”We face an urgent need to improve the digestibility of nutrients and energy by livestock to gain efficiency in converting consumed feed into meat.  I am excited to incorporate my swine nutrition research into NSRL programs funded by Illinois farmers.”