The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council hosted the Ninth Annual Soybean Symposium on March 29, 2018. The Symposium brought together several experts to discuss soybean quality and trade. The general topics covered in the symposium were:
- Global trade issues impacting soybean supply and demand;
- Market opportunities for soybeans with special value-added traits;
- New developments in breeding soybeans with special traits;
- Observed variation in soybean quality; and
- Relationship of soybean quality to soybean value.
The Symposium provided a forum to discuss global trade issues and the importance of improving the composition of soybeans to better meet the demands of the consumer of soybean products. Of special interest were the discussions related to importance of soybean meal being a primary source of critical amino acids in poultry and swine feeds. Many nutritionists are now formulating rations based on digestible amino acids rather than crude protein. Much of the discussion was directed at the efforts to develop new soybean varieties that are providing traits desired by the user of soybean products. Our challenges are to develop new value-added soybeans with improved composition, accurately and quickly measure those nutritional improvements, and provide an economic incentive to encourage the soybean meal improvement. The attendee’s discussion provided encouragement that with new advances in soybean breeding and refinements in feed formulation soybean meal will continue to be the protein supplement of choice for livestock and poultry producers
