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Soybean Meal 360° Symposium to Challenge Pork Producer Perceptions

Ready to rethink soybean meal? Nutritionists, veterinarians, producers and academia are encouraged to attend the upcoming Iowa Swine Day Pre-conference Symposium titled: Soybean Meal 360: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production.

Dr. David Holzgraefe, swine nutritionist and owner of Holzgraefe Innovative Services, LLC, will moderate the new half-day symposium on July 24 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa, ahead of Iowa Swine Day.

“The Swine Day Pre-conference Symposium provides a 360º perspective of soybean meal use for the pork industry to understand and apply the breadth of soybean meal’s amino acids, energy and complementary nutrition factors into wise, effective feeding strategies and enables the foundation for the next generation of new discoveries,” Holzgraefe said in a release.

Eight leading swine industry experts will cover a range of interrelated soy topics including:

U.S. soybean processing industry – the dynamics of change by Gordon Denny, General Manager, Thornton, Colo.
Quantifying the value of increased soybean meal crude protein and energy in swine and poultry diets by Micah Pope, MS, Senior Consultant, Centrec Consulting Group, Savoy, Ill.
Soybean meal net energy and productive energy are higher in commercial pork production systems by Aaron Gaines, PhD, Managing Partner, Ani-Tek, Shelbina, MO and Hans Stein, PhD, Professor, University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill.
Soybean meal functional compounds – the science behind observations of improved pig health and viability by Amy Petry, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.
Pig growth is impaired with soybean meal displacement by Eric van Heugten, PhD, Professor, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
The value of dietary soybean meal in preventing carcass weight reduction during summer months by David Rosero, PhD, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
What does all this mean for swine diet formulations? by Bart Borg, PhD, Director of Nutrition, Standard Nutrition Services, Ames, Iowa
The program will wrap up with all speakers joining a robust question and answer panel discussion moderated by Dr. R. Dean Boyd, with Animal Nutrition Research, LLC.

“It is a pleasure to be involved in the Iowa Swine Day Pre-conference Symposium. This important event brings research to light that exposes the remarkable health and growth-promoting aspects of soybean meal,” Boyd said in a release. “I spent 20 years of my career helping to enlarge the amino acid library to reduce diet cost, only to learn that extreme soybean meal displacement with these and competing proteins harms summer carcass weight and impairs growth during winter months. This symposium brings the complete story to light – from processing to practical, profitable solutions.”

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Agriculture Secretary Rollins Speaks at American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in Anaheim

Video: Agriculture Secretary Rollins Speaks at American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in Anaheim

One of the highlights at the 2026 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in Anaheim, California, was an address by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. During her remarks, she thanked America’s farmers and ranchers and said the Trump Administration is fully aware that food security is national security.

She also acknowledged the challenging times in Farm Country with low commodity prices and high input costs and said that’s why the President stepped in to help with the recent Bridge Assistance Program.

Montana Farm Bureau Federation Executive Vice President Scott Kulbeck says that Farm Bureau members are appreciative of the help and looks forward to working with the American Farm Bureau Federation and its presence in Washington, DC to keep farmers and ranchers in business.

Secretary Rollins said the Trump Administration is also committed to helping ranchers build back America’s cattle herd while also providing more high-quality U.S. beef at the meat case for consumers.

And she also announced more assistance for specialty crop producers who only received a fraction of the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA).

It’s important to note that producers who qualify for Farmer Bridge Assistance can expect the Farm Service Agency to start issuing payments in late February. For more information, farmers and ranchers are encouraged to contact their local USDA Service Center.