2011: The Year of Soybeans

Are you on a high-protein diet? Then you're going to love the 2011 Indiana State Fair! After much contemplation and occasional discussions with the State Department of Agriculture, we are ready to celebrate soybeans and all that they mean to our state.

Soybeans produce at least twice as much protein per acre as any other major vegetable or grain crop, and soybean meal is the main food source for cows, chickens, pigs and fish, which means you are probably taking in soybeans in some form every day. And those yummy cakes, cookies and pies we all love... well, they required vegetable oil - soybean oil - in order to become yummy. So let's give it up for soybeans!

We're looking forward to working with the Indiana Soybean Alliance to promote soybeans at the fair. We are still brainstorming all the fun ways we'll incorporate this important legume into the fair, but you can count on getting lots of facts, such as:

• Indiana ranks 3rd in the U.S. in soybean processing


• Indiana ranks 4th in the U.S. in soybean production


• Hoosier farmers produce 244 million bushels of soybeans each year


• The soybean industry contributes $2.5 billion to the state's economy

In case you weren't aware, our midway rides and tractor shuttles have been operating on soy biodiesel fuel for years, so soybeans aren't just about food production. And if you don't think soybeans can be fun, maybe you've never run into Bennie the Bean roaming around the Pioneer Our Land Pavilion. He's a fun bean.

Submitted by Andy Klotz