Not only is Illinois the leading soybean-producing state in America, it’s also the fourth largest soybean country in the entire world, producing nearly 600 million bushels of beans on more than 10 million acres in 2017.

Roughly 60 percent of those beans, with an estimated value of nearly $3 billion dollars, are destined for export markets, with one out of every three rows going to our biggest soybean customer, China.

In this episode of ILSoyAdvisor.com Profitability Radio, we speak with ISA Trade Teams Lead David Headley about ISA’s effort to build global demand for Illinois soybeans.

Headley discusses ISA trade team efforts, including why Illinois beans are so prized in the global marketplace. Listen to the full report below:

David Headley is currently the Trade Team Lead at Illinois Soybean Association where he assists with new initiatives to strengthen worldwide market access and trade consolidations through international delegation visits to Illinois.

Throughout his career David has traveled to more than 70 countries analyzing and assessing a complex global agriculture supply chain.

David is a published author of several papers, articles and Op-Ed’s including being featured in Wall Street Journal. He holds a BS in Agriculture from North Carolina State University and MBA in International Business from University of Illinois.