Growing Appetites For U.S. Soy

High-quality soybean meal is important to growing animal ag business 

 

The population of hogs and chickens in the U.S. is getting larger, and so is their need for high-quality feed. According to soy checkoff-funded research, hog and broiler production in the U.S. has grown over the years. The number of hogs produced in the U.S. has increased nearly 25 percent since 2003, while broiler production has increased by more than 15 percent. More hogs and chickens mean more opportunities for soybean farmers, but only if soybean farmers produce high-quality feed that is desired by animal ag. 

 

Poultry and livestock farmers depend on high levels of protein, amino acids and digestible energy to maximize their animals’ potential. One way U.S. soybean farmers can help meet these customers’ needs is by thinking beyond the bushel and planting varieties that both produce high-quality soybeans and deliver high yield.

 

“It’s certainly understandable that many U.S. soybean farmers focus on yield when selecting seed,” says Dan Corcoran, checkoff farmer-leader from Piketon, Ohio, and team lead of the United Soybean Board’s Value Task Force. “However, we’re really producing protein and oil. The quality of the protein is what’s most important to our top end-user – animal ag.”

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.