Industry Statistics and Trends
Market size and recent performance (2016-2031)
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 4.7 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $45.7bn in 2026.
Trends and Insights
Surging biofuel demand boosts soybean oil production and farmer opportunities
- According to the USDA's December 2025 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), a forecasted 52.3% of soybean oil production in the US will go into biofuels in the 2025/26 marketing year (MY), up from 43.7% in 2024/25 and 37.9% in 2020/21. This is largely due to supportive state and federal policies such as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, which mandates the use of a specified level of renewable fuels, such as those produced from soybean oil.
- Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Source: IBISWorld
Industry outlook (2026-2031)
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Trends and Insights
Strong soybean yields and prices will point the industry back towards growth
- The USDA’s 2025 long‑term crop projections show US soybean acreage holding relatively steady through the outlook period, while yields are expected to grow by 4.7% between 2026 and 2031. In the same period, the stocks‑to‑use ratio is projected to drop sharply, as consumption catches up with, or even outpaces, supply growth while crush and export demand expand. Soybean prices are forecast to strengthen at a CAGR of 1.7% through 2031, suggesting a gradual recovery from the steep price declines seen in the current period rather than a return to the extreme highs of 2022.
Biggest companies in the Soybean Farming in the US
| Company | Market Share (%)
2026 | Revenue
2026 | Profit
2026 | Profit Margin (%)
2026 |
|---|
There are no companies that hold a market share exceeding 5% in the Soybean Farming in the US industry.
Products & Services Segmentation
Source: IBISWorld
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Soybean meal, Soybean oil and Soybean hull. Soybean meal is the largest segment of the Soybean Farming in the US.
Trends and Insights
Production of soybean meal grows alongside the livestock industry
- Soybean meal includes ground soybeans that have had their oil extracted and are mainly used for animal feed. The USDA reports that soybean crush is expected to reach a record high of 2.56 billion bushels in the marketing year 2025/26. This production growth makes US soybean meal well-positioned to meet growing domestic and international demand, supporting the expansion of the livestock and poultry sectors.
- More insights available in the full report
Table of Contents
About this industry
Industry definition
Farms in this industry grow soybeans as their main crop. Soybeans are most often used in livestock feeds and vegetable oils, with a small but growing proportion being used in biofuel production. Establishments that sell soybean seeds to US farmers for growing crops are also included.
What's included in this industry?
Products and services covered in the Soybean Farming industry in the United States include Soybean oil, Soybean meal and Soybean hulls.Companies
Companies covered in the Soybean Farming industry in the United States include .Purchase this report to view all major companies in this industry.
Related Terms
Related terms covered in the Soybean Farming industry in the United States include soybean meal, herbicide, bushel, biofuel, yield, genetically modified (gm) and asian soybean rust.Industry Code
NAICS 11111 - Soybean Farming in the US
Performance
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
Analyst insights
Surging biofuel demand is giving soybean farmers new opportunities, but they're struggling with low prices and strong global stocks. Many are boosting yields to offset these ...
In this chapter (4)
- Current Performance
- Outlook
- Volatility
- Life Cycle
Key metrics
- Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
- Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
- Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
- Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business
Charts
- Revenue, including historical (2016-2025) and forecast (2026-2031)
- Employees, including historical (2016-2025) and forecast (2026-2031)
- Businesses, including historical (2016-2025) and forecast (2026-2031)
- Profit, including historical (2016-2026)
- Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
- Industry Life Cycle
Detailed analysis
- Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
- Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
- Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
- How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.
Products and Markets
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
Analyst insight
Refineries need soybean oil for biodiesel. Biofuel production has grown as supply chain disruptions at home and abroad have increased gas and diesel prices.
In this chapter
- Products & Services
- Major Markets
- International Trade
Key metrics
- Largest market segment and value in 2026
- Product innovation level
- Total imports, level and trend
- Total exports, level and trend
- Trade Balance
Charts
- Products & services segmentation in 2026
- Major market segmentation in 2026
- International trade, including imports by country and exports by country
Detailed analysis
- Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
- Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
- Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
- Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services
- Recent trends in import and export volumes, country of origin or destination, and expected future trends
Geographic Breakdown
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
Analyst insights
Soybean plants need large fields of open space. The Plains region grows nearly half of US soybeans because it has the necessary space.
In this chapter (1)
- Business Locations
Charts
- Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each state
- Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2026
Tables
- Number and share of establishments in each state in 2026
- Number and share of revenue each state accounts for in 2026
- Number and share of wages each state accounts for in 2026
- Number and share of employees in each state in 2026
Detailed analysis
- Geographic spread of the industry across North America, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
- Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage
Competitive Forces
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
Analyst insights
Soybean farms must reduce costs to better compete with other soybean farms, feed grain producers and oilseed growers. Product innovation and differentiation can help, but pri...
In this chapter (4)
- Concentration
- Barriers to Entry
- Substitutes
- Buyer & Supplier Analysis
Key metrics
- Industry concentration level
- Industry competition level and trend
- Barriers to entry level and trend
- Substitutes level and trend
- Buyer power level and trend
- Supplier power level and trend
Charts
- Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2021-2026
- Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart
Detailed analysis
- Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
- Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
- Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
- Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
- Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
- Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
- Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
- Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
- Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.
Companies
There are no companies that hold a market share exceeding 5% in the Soybean Farming in the US industry.
Analyst insights
Almost exclusively, small companies grow soybeans in the US. While some companies produce seeds on a large scale, nearly all soybean farms are small, independent operations. ...
External Environment
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
Analyst insights
Subsidies help protect soybean farmers when soybean prices decline. Subsidies also reduce volatility brought on by harsh growing conditions and adverse weather.
In this chapter
- External Drivers
- Regulation & Policy
- Assistance
Key metrics
- Regulation & policy level and trend
- Assistance level and trend
Charts
- Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2016-2031)
- Assistance historical data and forecast (2016-2031)
Detailed analysis
- Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
- Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
- Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.
Financial Benchmarks
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Analyst insights
Input costs have grown for soybean farms. Fertilizer prices, in particular, have increased in the current period, though they have cooled from 2021 and 2022 extremes.
In this chapter
- Cost Structure
- Financial Ratios
- Key Ratios
Key metrics
- Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
- Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
- Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
- Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio
Charts
- Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2026
- Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2026
- Investment vs. share of economy
Data tables
- Industry Multiples (2019-2024)
- Industry Tax Structure (2019-2024)
- Income Statement (2019-2024)
- Balance Sheet (2019-2024)
- Liquidity Ratios (2019-2024)
- Coverage Ratios (2019-2024)
- Leverage Ratios (2019-2024)
- Operating Ratios (2019-2024)
- Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2016-2031)
- Revenue per Employee (2016-2031)
- Revenue per Enterprise (2016-2031)
- Employees per Establishment (2016-2031)
- Employees per Enterprise (2016-2031)
- Average Wage (2016-2031)
- Wages/Revenue (2016-2031)
- Establishments per Enterprise (2016-2031)
- IVA/Revenue (2016-2031)
- Imports/Demand (2016-2031)
- Exports/Revenue (2016-2031)
Detailed analysis
- Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability
Key Statistics
Industry Data
Data Tables
Including values and annual change:
- Revenue (2016-2031)
- IVA (2016-2031)
- Establishments (2016-2031)
- Enterprises (2016-2031)
- Employment (2016-2031)
- Exports (2016-2031)
- Imports (2016-2031)
- Wages (2016-2031)
Top Questions Answered
Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.
What is the market size of the Soybean Farming industry in the United States in 2026?
The market size of the Soybean Farming industry in the United States is $45.7bn in 2026.
How many businesses are there in the Soybean Farming industry in the United States in 2026?
There are 59,466 businesses in the Soybean Farming industry in the United States, which has declined at a CAGR of 11.0 % between 2021 and 2026.
How may import tariffs affect the Soybean Farming industry in the United States?
The Soybean Farming industry in the United States is unlikely to be materially impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a low share of industry revenue.
How may export tariffs affect the Soybean Farming industry in the United States?
The Soybean Farming industry in the United States is likely to be significantly impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a high share of industry revenue.
Has the Soybean Farming industry in the United States grown or declined over the past 5 years?
The market size of the Soybean Farming industry in the United States has been declining at a CAGR of 4.7 % between 2021 and 2026.
What is the forecast growth of the Soybean Farming industry in the United States over the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, the Soybean Farming industry in the United States is expected to grow.
What does the Soybean Farming industry in the United States include?
Soybean oil and Soybean meal are part of the Soybean Farming industry in the United States.
How competitive is the Soybean Farming industry in the United States?
The level of competition is moderate and increasing in the Soybean Farming industry in the United States.
Methodology
How are IBISWorld reports created?
IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.
Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.
IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.
What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?
Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.
Key data sources in the US include:
- US Census Bureau
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics
- US International Trade Commission
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
- Industry and trade associations
- Industry federations or regulators
- Major industry players annual or quarterly filings
Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.
How does IBISWorld forecast its data?
IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.
Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.
