Soybeans – a crop that is now critical to sustaining the current human population but one that also brings huge sustainability concerns in terms of its cultivation in South America. Poultry World takes an in-depth look at soybean production for livestock feed, in South America and beyond.
sunflower meal, distillers dried grains, palm meal, flaxmeal, sesame meal and corn processing by-products.
Reducing use Indeed, globally there is much current research to determine at what levels other feed ingredients can be used to replace SBM in poultry di- ets. Alternatives include canola meal, pea, lupin, sesame, blood meal, palm kernel meal, dried distillers grains, feather meal, insects, earth- worms, algae, Azolla (an aquatic fern) and single-cell protein. The UN FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) estimates that insects could re- place between 25% and 100% of soymeal in chicken diets. Sunflower meal and rapeseed meal are also promising. They contain an average of 18.5% and 21.5% protein, respectively, where protein in soybeans is at about 40% depending on where it is cultivated. European outlook Krön notes that broiler production is increasing in Europe to some extent, while pig numbers are declining. Broilers are also more feed- efficient and eat less overall than pigs. For these reasons, and because there is a strong driving force in Europe towards less meat consumption (especially pork), he believes the need for soybeans in livestock feed in Europe will decrease. The need for soybeans in European diets may also decrease significantly in future now that (as of August 2021) the EU has lifted its ban on the use of animal by-products for animal feed. The proposed change in leg- islation allows processed animal protein (PAPs) from pigs to be used in
poultry feed, and from poultry to be used in pig feed. While most EU member states have endorsed the change, France and Ireland have ab- stained. In addition, on a global scale, synthetic amino acids which can now be produced economically in large volumes, represent another way that soybean volumes can be reduced in livestock feeds. According to the UN FAO report Protein Sources for the Animal Feed In- dustry, “it is suggested that the incorporation of one tonne (t) of L-lysine hydrochloride could save the use of 33 t of soybean meal. Or, if 550,000 t of L-lysine hydrochloride is used globally, it could replace 18 million t of soybean meal, representing about half of the USA soybean meal production”.
Future outlook As stated in a new book entitled ‘Advances in Poultry Nutrition Research’, scientists from Libya, Canada, Malaysia and Pakistan note that soybeans and yellow corn, the main components of poultry diets, are in demand on many fronts. Soybeans are of interest to make more plant-based food products and SBM is also in great demand for feeding other live- stock types. At the same time, the consumption of poultry products, whether as meat or eggs, is increasing globally, predominantly in devel- oping countries. The production of biofuel using soybean oil is also growing, as is the human population. Therefore, although alternatives to SBM in poultry diets will continue to be investigated, the demand for soybeans in poultry feed is likely to drive up soybean acreage in Brazil and beyond every year.
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 10, 2021 11
PHOTO: KOOS VAN DER SPEK
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