By Mandy Heth
Soy taps into $15-billion-dollar shrimp industry.On average, Americans consume around 16 pounds of seafood each year with shrimp leading the school at more than four pounds. The popularity of the tasty crustaceans has led to an increase in the number of shrimp being farmed...
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By Mandy Heth
A $710K checkoff investment in research gains nearly $14 million in fundingNine years ago, the soybean checkoff initiated the Soy Health Research Program (SHRP) to encourage scientists to work on soy-based human health research. It provides resources for researchers to submit...
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By Mandy Heth
The U.S. domestic aquaculture industry faces many challenges, including a declining market share to imported fish that are less expensive and have lower production costs than U.S.- based production. As of July 2008, the United States Department of Agriculture estimated the total...
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By Mandy Heth
In 2006, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP) began to investigate issues associated with industrial farm animal production operations. Results of these findings were announced in April 2008 as a report that was later presented to national legislators...
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By Mandy Heth
When most farmers think about soybean meal (SBM) consumption, they tend to picture the Midwest, but the top five states using SBM for animal feed may just be a surprise.Iowa leads the nation in both soybean production and SBM consumption, using more than 3.3 million tons of SBM...
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By Tyler Kelley
Demand for soy biodiesel has risen sharply, with an estimated 225 million gallons produced and sold in 2006. That’s great news, but with that increase in soybean oil for biodiesel comes an impact on soybean meal. Crushing more soybeans domestically to meet biodiesel demand will...
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By Tyler Kelley
While many soybean farmers may have livestock producers as neighbors, poultry farmers aren’t as prevalent. But just because soybean farmers may not see poultry production firsthand, it doesn’t mean poultry isn’t a vital market for U.S. soybean meal. In 2003/2004, broilers...
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By Tyler Kelley
There’s a saying that all politics are local, and the same can be said about battles involving the future of the livestock and poultry industries. Regardless of state and federal rules and regulations, if individual counties won’t let livestock and poultry farmers build or...
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By Tyler Kelley
One popular cable TV show takes common myths and tests them scientifically to see if they are valid. One example saw the hosts testing skunk scent removers, but some myths about animal agriculture smell just as bad. Myth – Avian influenza or bird flu is a threat to humans in the...
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By Mandy Heth
H1N1 – and other pandemics What’s the impact on U.S. soybean farmers?Pork producers have had a rough year. With the fall in pork prices and the decline of sales, many producers have struggled. Then they faced fallout from the H1N1 virus. Media coverage of the outbreak of H1N1,...
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By Mandy Heth
Checkoff supports research to help improve diets of top U.S. soybean meal consumersEnergy input costs and escalating feed costs have squeezed poultry and livestock producers’ bottom lines. Swine consume a quarter of domestically used U.S. soybean meal. That’s why U.S. soybean...
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By Mandy Heth
In 2006, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP) began to investigate issues associated with industrial farm animal production operations. Results of these findings were announced in April 2008 as a report that was later presented to national legislators...
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By Mandy Heth
Livestock and poultry producers are facing a tough year. Input costs for feed and a surplus of animals in the slaughter market have reduced their profitability. “We’ve had record-setting exports for 16 years, and we are hoping that those sales, as well as an increase in domestic...
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By Mandy Heth
It may be a surprise, but the poultry sector, including broilers, layers and turkeys, consumes more soybean meal (SBM) than any other livestock group, eating nearly 22 million tons a year. It may also be a surprise to find out that turkeys have the most growth potential as an...
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By Mandy Heth
As a soybean farmer, your number one customer is a pig or a chicken or quite possibly a cow. Livestock and poultry utilize 98 percent of the domestic soybean meal consumed in the U.S., making animal agriculture a powerful way to add value to soybeans. By feeding soybean meal to...
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By Mandy Heth
Livestock and poultry are a soybean farmer’s number one customer – they consume the majority of the soybean meal produced in the United States and are vital to the soybean industry. Lately animal agriculture has faced scrutiny from numerous local and national groups, which is...
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By Tyler Kelley
The ""not in my backyard” phenomenon has encroached upon rural America in a local-level fight with far-reaching economic repercussions. Most battles over animal agriculture are fought on the county level, and many people don’t like the idea of animal agriculture in...
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By Tyler Kelley
Soybean farmers, your number one customer is under attack. Animal welfare and environmental rights activists are attacking the U.S. livestock industry regularly and without mercy. Some examples of this include giving children “unhappy meals” or information on “Murder...
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