Consumption, production, storage, and movement of corn and soybeans in Virginia

Virginia is a net deficit state in corn and soybeans. The purpose of this study is to determine when during the crop year this deficit occurs, the relationship among production, consumption, and storage to determine if storage is a limiting factor, and why Virginia does not increase its production of these grains to meet the needs of its livestock poultry industries.

Three sectors are considered in the study. These are the livestock and poultry industries which are the consumers of corn and soybeans, the corn and soybean production sector, and the storage sector. Trends in livestock and poultry show that from the 1965-1969 period to the 1975-1979 period there have been increases in the number of animals consuming feed and, in most cases, decreases in per head consumption of feed. Changes in production show increases in both acreage harvested as well as yields per acre over the same period. The result of these changes is a decrease in the corn deficit and relatively little change in the soybean deficit. Storage capacity has also been increased. On a state-wide basis, storage is adequate to meet the needs of the producers; whereas, in some regions it proves restrictive.

A study of the movement of corn and soybeans indicates the costs of shipping these grains within the state are, for the most part, more expensive than importing the needed quantities from the Mid-West.