It’s no secret that when processors buy soybeans to turn into poultry and livestock feed they are making their choices based on the amount of protein inside. Likewise, food-industry customers need soybeans with high levels of oil. Soybeans with higher oil and protein content are in greater demand, and better demand can lead to a higher price for farmers.
“Soybeans are typically an integral part of poultry and swine rations,” says Laura Foell, United Soybean Board (USB) Meal Action Team chair and a soybean farmer from Schaller, Iowa. “They are a great protein source for those animals.
“Offering higher-quality soybean meal is a win-win for both the soybean farmer and the livestock and poultry producers. If more soybean farmers can supply a high-quality product that livestock and poultry producers desire, the demand for soybean meal will rise.”
While many soybean farmers know the importance of growing higher-quality soybeans, they don’t always know how to do so. One simple answer is toask your seed dealer or use the Soybean Quality Toolbox, located at www.GrowSoybeanQuality.com, to find varieties that produce more protein.
“Farmers should work with their seed dealers to evaluate their seed purchases each year in order to make sure that our No. 1 customer—animal ag—has the highest-quality soybean meal,” Foell says.
To use the soy-checkoff-funded Soybean Quality Toolbox, simply follow the step-by-step process to find top-performing varieties in your area that offer high protein and oil without sacrificing yield.
For example, in Foell’s area in 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, the Soybean Quality Toolbox shows that varieties from Stine, Channel, Kruger, Renk and others yielded at least 65 bushels per acre and offered high protein and oil levels. This adds up to soybeans with enhanced value for farmers. Check out the tool for varieties that offer similar results in your area.