A recent report provides an opportunist view of the future for soybean meal. The Midwest Feeds Consortium directed by the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development at Iowa State University has reported that soybean meal and soybean products could be increased by 2 percent annually with increased use by the aquaculture market. Up to 30-percent soybean products could be used in the production of fish and shrimp. The consortium has completed a study that pointed out the opportunity for soybean products to replace imported marine protein meals used by the aquaculture feed industry. The world aquaculture feed production was estimated to increase from approximately 8.6 million metric tons in 1995 to 15.6 million metric tons by the year 2000. The worldwide aquaculture feed industry is using approximately 5.6 million tons of fish meal annually. The consensus was that the world fish stocks are being harvested at or above their sustainable yield. In order to achieve the predicted growth in the aquaculture industry, soybean meal will need to be shown as an efficient substitute for fish meal. The Consortium concluded that a fish diet consisting of up to 30-percent soybean-based products can decrease feed costs without hindering performance. It would seem that the potential for increased use of soybean meal is realistic.

Hefferman, Keith. 1999. New uses for soybean products. Iowa Ag Review published by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, 5(2):11.