Animal agriculture consumes 97 percent of U.S. soybean meal ? a key demand driver for soybean farmers. The United Soybean Board invests in research to improve soy-based products for animal agriculture. USB farmer-leader Gary Berg talked about a couple of those projects.
?We partnered with University of Illinois on adding high oleic oil to the diet of pigs to help them perform better,? Berg said. ?Good for them, good for soybeans, project on the supply side for chickens, using larger particles.?
Berg said soybean checkoff research helps animal agriculture demand as well.
?We?re partnering with USA Poultry and Egg Export Council to export more poultry,? Berg said. ?Poultry is the number one consumer of all the animal ag segments; pork is number two. And then we?re doing lots of research with sustainable aquaculture.?
Berg added that investing in animal agriculture helps grow demand for U.S. soybean farmers.
?I?ve told some of my farmer friends that it?s great that we export a lot of soybeans to China and Mexico, but the best of all worlds is if we can feed the poultry and pork and other animals here in the U.S. and then have more exports in China and other countries in the form of value-added meat,? Berg said.
For more information, visit unitedsoybean.org.
