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Report: Soy second in Illinois exports, adds $7.5B to GSP
By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent
 
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The value chain provided by Illinois soybeans and associated industries contributes $7.48 billion to gross state product (GSP) in the Land of Lincoln, according to an Informa Economics IEG report funded by the Illinois Soybean Assoc. (ISA) checkoff program.
 
The report, based primarily on 2016 data, revealed that growing and crushing soybeans and refining soybean oil contributes $17.65 billion in sales output within the Illinois economy, while providing more than 57,200 jobs.
 
The report also considers indirect impacts to upstream industries, including farm inputs, along with induced impacts from spending labor income and profits generated by direct and indirect impacts. Those impacts include benefits to housing, medical and grocery industries.

A record harvest of nearly 593 million bushels last fall established Illinois as the top-producing soybean state. The Informa report seeks to document the critical importance of soybeans to the state’s economy, including factors such as the 45,800 farming jobs, 8,400 crushing jobs and 3,000 soybean oil refinery jobs provided by the protein-rich legume.

Companies providing employment in the crushing and refining sectors include ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Incobrasa in Gilman, Ill. “Another segment of that is the animal agriculture side, the animal feed side,” said Craig Ratajczyk, ISA CEO.

“And you also have the biodiesel equation. Those are the downstream enterprises that add almost another $10.7 billion in output to the economy of the state.” What the report does not encompass is the input side of equation, he noted.

“As you know, John Deere is in Illinois, a lot of biotech seed companies and chemical companies, equipment, fertilizer, fuel and transportation companies ... you really have a lot of sectors that benefit from the soybean industry,” he said, adding while Illinois soybean growers benefit from a strong local market of supporting industries that rely on soybeans, “the large industry multipliers mean the entire state profits from soybeans.”

Among the report’s highlights: animal agriculture industries contribute more than $10 billion in sales and $5.1 billion in GSP, while the biodiesel industry adds $672 million in sales and $98 million in GSP. The overall economic ripple effect from the Illinois soybean industry means that for every dollar in gross product generated, another $2.75 is created.

The job multiplier is even greater, with each job in the soybean supply chain supporting another 5.53 jobs elsewhere in the state’s economy, Informa’s study reported. Soybeans became the second-highest export from Illinois in 2016, with the value of exports growing within $500 million of the state’s top export, petroleum-based oils. It reflected a 53 percent increase in export value over 2015, reinforcing another aspect of the far-reaching significance of soybeans to the state’s economy.

“About 60 percent of the soybeans grown in Illinois are exported each year,” said Mark Albertson, ISA strategic market development director. “Soybeans have been a top-five Illinois export for the past five years, but the significant growth in export value reflects ongoing efforts to promote Illinois soy and our strategic transportation infrastructure advantages.”

ISA was the winner of a 2016 Governor’s Export Award at a ceremony hosted last December by Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. ISA was honored as top Agricultural Business Exporter by the state for performance based on 2011-15 fiscal years.

“Illinois has the best location, the best people and the best infrastructure of any other state in the nation,” noted Gov. Bruce Rauner in December. “Our businesses and entrepreneurs are the backbone of the Illinois economy. They are excellent leaders and innovators with reach across the globe, but their impacts are most felt right at home.”

Ratajczyk said the Governor’s Award was great recognition to the soybean producers in this state, illustrating how the industry enhances Illinois’ overall economy and way of life.

“In looking at our state’s GDP (gross domestic product) of around $700 billion, the overall value added by the state’s agriculture and soybean industry is very high. It supports a lot of communities, a lot of education programs for young people, a lot of road, bridge and construction programs in rural America. Driving down the rural roads, you can see the value that the soybean industry, in particular, adds to the Illinois way 
5/18/2017