Indirect consumption of soybean meal high on Super Bowl Sunday
Super Bowl Sunday – the second-biggest eating day of the year – is here again. It’s a big day for the nation’s producers of chickens, hogs, cattle and other livestock since most of those watching the game will enjoy plenty of protein-packed snacks. In fact, the National Chicken Council says Super Bowl spectators will eat 1.33 billion chicken wings this Super Bowl Sunday, in addition to all of the pizza, barbecue and other goodies made from meat and cheese.
But don’t forget that Super Bowl Sunday is also a big day for U.S. soybean farmers who provide the soybean meal to feed those animals. Animal agriculture remains the No. 1 customer for U.S. soybean farmers, using nearly 97 percent of all U.S. soybean meal.
Eating all of those chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday means indirect consumption of a huge amount of U.S. soybean meal since poultry are the single biggest consumer of soybean meal.
According to the Market View Database, in the U.S. alone, poultry eat nearly 15.4 million metric tons of U.S. soybean meal annually, or the meal from just under 709 million bushels of U.S. soybeans. Swine are next up at 8.1 million metric tons, or the meal from more than 371 million bushels. And beef and dairy cattle combine to eat 4.1 million metric tons, or about 193 million bushels worth.
Even though these animal producers are already big users of U.S. soy, improving soybean quality increases that demand even more, which also increases the value of U.S. soy. Ask your seed dealer about varieties that will produce higher levels of protein without sacrificing yield.
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