A US soybean industry representative has said that soybean farmers should support the US poultry and livestock industry as its number one customer, as improvements in poultry exports ultimately benefit the soybean industry as well.
A recently completed study showed the value of US meat and poultry exports to
soybean producers. Livestock and poultry producers buy the majority of US
soybean meal, and meat exports continue to rise.
In 2005, chickens
destined for export consumed soybean meal from about 81 million bushels of
soybeans, and turkeys consumed another 10 million bushels. “US livestock and
poultry represent the number one market for US soybean meal, so what’s good for
meat exports tends to be good for soybean farmers,” says Phil Bradshaw, chair of
the United
Soybean Board’s Animal Agriculture Initiative Leadership Team.
“It’s
important for soybean farmers to support the domestic poultry and livestock
industries in every way we can,” says Bradshaw. “That means helping to avoid
diseases like avian influena , but also showing support to our local poultry and
livestock farmers, as they represent our number one customer.”
For more
information, see the full study, titled “ The
Value of US Meat and Poultry Exports to US Soybean Producers through 2015 “.