Where can I grow soybean?
Glycine max · Oilseed · Annual
Soybean is a great fit (80+) on 96.2 million km² (37.2 million sq mi) of land in 215 countries, 45% of it only with irrigation. The most well-suited land is in Pará, Brazil, Minas Gerais, Brazil and Amazonas, Brazil. Where it can't grow, it's usually growing season too cool (81%) and nights too cold in the growing season (19%).
Tap the map for the score at any spot. Each square is a 28 km (17 mile) grid cell.
- Great fit (80+)
- 96.2M km²(37.2M sq mi)
- 67% of land
- Worth a try (50–79)
- 8.6M km²(3.3M sq mi)
- 6% of land
- Great fit without irrigation
- 53.0M km²(20.5M sq mi)
- Rain alone is enough
- Countries
- 215
- With great-fit land
Regions with the most suitable land
- 1
- 2
🇧🇷Minas Gerais, Brazil
Great fit on 564k km² (218k sq mi)
For example Belo Horizonte (100), Uberlândia (100)
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
🇺🇸California, United States
Great fit on 258k km² (100k sq mi) · worth a try on 53k km² (21k sq mi) · mostly with irrigation
For example Redding (100), Los Angeles (100)
- 14
- 15
Regions are states and provinces, counting land within 75 km of a town. At most three per country, so the list covers the world.
By country
- 🇧🇷Brazil6.0M km² (2.3M sq mi) · 100% of its land
- 🇺🇸United States4.6M km² (1.8M sq mi) · 82% of its land
- 🇨🇳China4.3M km² (1.7M sq mi) · 76% of its land
- 🇮🇳India3.1M km² (1.2M sq mi) · 96% of its land
- 🇲🇽Mexico1.6M km² (599k sq mi) · 96% of its land
- 🇮🇩Indonesia1.5M km² (593k sq mi) · 98% of its land
- 🇮🇷Iran1.4M km² (534k sq mi) · 99% of its land
- 🇦🇷Argentina1.3M km² (514k sq mi) · 85% of its land
- 🇨🇩Democratic Republic of the Congo1.1M km² (432k sq mi) · 99% of its land
- 🇷🇺Russia896k km² (346k sq mi) · 18% of its land
Best-suited towns
- 100%fit
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 100%fit
🇦🇷 Misiones, Argentina
- 100%fit
🇧🇷 Paraná, Brazil
- 100%fit
🇮🇳 Odisha, India
- 100%fit
🇯🇵 Osaka, Japan
- 100%fit
🇮🇳 Uttar Pradesh, India
- 100%fit
🇳🇬 Kogi State, Nigeria
- 100%fit
🇵🇾 Alto Paraná Department, Paraguay
- 100%fit
🇨🇳 Shandong, China
- 100%fit
🇸🇻 San Salvador Department, El Salvador
- 100%fit
🇯🇵 Osaka, Japan
- 100%fit
🇸🇻 San Salvador Department, El Salvador
The most comfortable fits among the 2,000 biggest towns, two per region.
What soybean needs
- Growing-season average
- Ideal 68–86°F (20–30°C)Won't grow below 55°F (13°C) or above 95°F (35°C)
- Coldest growing-season night (monthly average)
- Ideal at least 50°F (10°C)Won't grow below 39°F (4°C)
- Growing-season rain
- Ideal 18–35 in (450–900 mm)Won't grow below 9.8 in (250 mm) or above 55 in (1,400 mm)
Maturity groups are matched to latitude because flowering is triggered by shortening days.
Sources: FAO ECOCROP: Glycine max; FAO Crop Water Information: soybean. Ranges not yet reviewed by an agronomist.
What stops it elsewhere
- Growing season too cool81%
- Nights too cold in the growing season19%
Share of the land scoring under 50, by what holds it back most.
How this map works
Every 28 km square of land is scored 0–100 against the requirements above, using 1991–2020 monthly climate averages with frost, chill and heat estimated by simulating daily weather. Each square is scored with whichever variety fits it best. “With irrigation” ignores rain shortfalls; “Rain-fed only” counts them.
Climate is only part of it: soil, slope, water and markets decide where a crop is actually farmed. Use this to shortlist places, then check them locally.