Beef & Pork Exports Profit Crop Producers

Nebraska is a livestock state. Every year livestock receipts account for more than 50 percent of the state’s agricultural receipts. The prevalence of livestock means a hefty amount of Nebraska-grown corn and soybeans is fed to animals which, in turn, returns dividends to Nebraska crop producers through beef and pork exports. 

The dividends of meat exports to crop producers is the focus of a study by World Perspectives, Inc. for the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). The study estimates the value of beef and pork exports to Nebraska corn and soybean producers last year was approximately $450 million. Beef and pork exports combined contributed $360 million in value to corn producers and pork exports contributed $87 million in value to soybean producers. This amounts to $1.01 per bushel for corn, or $167 per acre, and $1.95 per bushel for soybeans or $95.00 per acre. Beef and pork exports also accounted for 53 million bushels of corn usage in the state. 

The diverse mix of crop and livestock grown in Nebraska makes the state an agricultural powerhouse. The dividends to crop producers from meat exports is the result of this mix and the interdependence of each sector. It also demonstrates the importance of both crops and livestock to the state’s agricultural economy.