U.S. soybean meal delivers the reliability that helps producers maximize profitability by meeting strict market specifications. Producers earn premium prices when they deliver uniform products — Grade A large eggs or broilers within target weight ranges — to processing plants.
“Profit is a simple equation: revenue minus cost,” Thomas D’Alfonso, director of animal nutrition at the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), told WATTPoultry.com at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE).
“The greatest source of profit is revenue, and uniformity is one of the biggest drivers of value for revenue,” he added.
Uniformity through consistency
U.S. soybean meal can help to boost poultry uniformity through consistently high digestibility of essential amino acids and metabolizable energy. This consistency originates on family farms, where 95% of U.S. soybeans are grown by multi-generational operators with intimate knowledge of their land.
“They know what parts of the soil or the crops need inputs,” D’Alfonso explained.
This approach not only reduces costs and environmental impact but creates more uniform crops within fields and across growing seasons — uniformity that translates directly into consistent feed quality and benefit poultry production.
Natural field drying further enhances U.S. soy’s consistency. Moisture content significantly affects nutrient density; as moisture increases, every nutrient decreases. Soybeans from tropical climates often require mechanical drying after wet harvest and may include immature “green beans” with lower digestibility, introducing variability that can undermine flock uniformity.
“When you adopt a preference for soybean meal made from U.S. soybeans, you can rely on, you can trust the values that we publish on the high digestibility and the consistency of essential amino acids and calories,” D’Alfonso said.
Determining soy origin is straightforward. Soybean meal purchased from the United States is guaranteed U.S. origin. For products sourced elsewhere, D’Alfonso recommends asking suppliers directly. Processors know their sources, though some blend beans from different origins, he cautioned.
