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: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.