How widely used is soybean meal in farming?
Ninety-eight percent of the soybean meal used in the country is formulated into feed rations as a protein source for poultry, swine, beef and dairy animals. Soybean meal is the protein of choice in pork and poultry diets throughout the world.

Why focus on swine for the research in the feed industry?
Swine consume a significant amount of the soybean meal produced in the United States. QUALISOY estimates that trait-enhanced soybeans will have the largest positive effect on monogastric animals such as swine and poultry. With data achieved through monogastric animal research, there could be some applications regarding soy consumption among humans, who are also monogastric.

Why is QUALISOY funding projects such as the net energy project and collaborating with the Animal Agriculture Initiative?
Ensuring that the soybean industry remains the protein of choice for the livestock and poultry industries is critical. As global growth in meat consumption continues, there will also be continued growth in soybean meal utilization. In the last 10 years, global soybean meal utilization has increased 61 percent.

When will livestock and poultry producers be able to source improved soybean meal at large quantities for their farms?
The current market environment for animal utilization is indeed challenging and will take some time. The proposed trait improvements are expected to be ready for commercialization between 2010 and 2012.

How much of an environmental benefit will the meal trait enhancements have on the animal agriculture industry?
The most recent study shows a 31 percent decrease in the excretion of phosphorus in the manure when pigs were fed the low-phytate soybeans and had the enzyme phytase added to their diet. Benefits will depend on growth stage and diet, as well as further development in the traits.

What traits/improvements will be introduced first to the feed industry?
The first trait improvements include:

• Reducing phytate-phosphorus
• Anti-nutritional factors — lectins, tannins, saponins, trypsin inhibitors
• Lysine improvements
• Sulfur-based amino acids — cystine and methionine
• Oligosaccharide reduction — raffinose and stachyose

What are the health benefits to animals and birds for using the new soybean meal?
Soybeans, like most legumes, contain anti-nutritional factors such as lectins, tannins and saponins, which are antagonists to healthy digestion in monogastrics and fish.

© 2008 QUALISOY