Maximizing Meal Value

“In the past, farmers have been rewarded for the sheer volume of their soybeans,” says Jared Hagert, USB vice chairman and soybean farmer from North Dakota. “Looking forward, in order to maximize value all along the chain, we need to send a clear signal throughout the industry that it’s not just bushels we’re growing and selling.”

USB farmer-leaders are working alongside representatives from the swine and poultry industries, seed companies and processors to address this issue and ensure that the nutritional bundle of digestible energy, protein and minerals in U.S. soybeans meets the various needs of the animal species that consume it.

No longer is soybean meal in animal feed a one-type-fits-all proposition, says Dan Corcoran, a USB farmer-leader from Piketon, Ohio, who chairs the soy checkoff’s Value Task Force. And animal agriculture, U.S. soybean farmers’ No. 1 customer, has more sources than ever to choose from, making it even more important that U.S. soy stands out.

“We aren’t the only ones out there producing soybeans,” says Corcoran, whose task force is addressing the challenge of maximizing the value of U.S. soybean meal. “New innovations in soybean meal could help us differentiate U.S. soybeans from our competitors in places like Brazil and Argentina, and that would support U.S. soybean-farmer profitability for years to come.”

“Our competition isn’t just coming from other countries, it’s coming from other feed ingredients,” says Hagert. “Protein sources from other feed ingredients, combined with synthetic amino acids, have already edged-out soybean meal in some animal feed formulations. It’s up to us to fight back.”