How soybeans are grown and harvested
Brazil and the United States together grow two-thirds of the world's soybeans, a crop that feeds its own soil.
- stations
- 3
- things downstream
- 168
The short version
Soybeans are planted in straight rows with modern machinery in places with hot summers, where the best growth comes at mean temperatures of 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. Weeds and pests are kept down through the season. When the pods mature, mechanized harvesters gather the crop, and like other legumes the plants fix nitrogen in the soil.
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Plant in straight rows
Seed goes into moist, organic-rich soil with machinery. Growth stalls when temperatures drop below 20 °C or rise above 40 °C, and the best conditions are mean temperatures of 20 to 30 °C.
20 to 30 °C
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Control weeds and pests
Weeds and pests must be kept in check to protect the crop. Deer and groundhogs both feed on the plants, and deer alone can cut yields by as much as 15%.
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Harvest the mature pods
Each hairy pod is 3 to 8 cm long and holds two to four seeds. After maturity, mechanized harvesting machines gather the crop.
Worth repeating
- Raw soybeans, even the green immature form, are toxic to all monogastric animals until they are cooked, roasted or fermented.
- Brazil's soybean boom rests partly on a cultivar developed in the 1980s that grows well at low latitudes.
Where it comes from
- Brazil and the United States combined66% of world output
2020, share of the more than 353 million tonnes of soybeans produced worldwide.
Where it goes next
Soybeans feeds 6 lines directly and reaches 168 things in total.
Further down the line
Keep walking
Sources
Cite this page: "How soybeans are grown and harvested." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/soybeans