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U.S. soy in the aquaculture industry

A leader with the Iowa Soybean Association says the aquaculture industry is a growing domestic market for U.S. soybean farmers.

Easton Kuboushek, ISA’s senior director of operations and executive director of the Soy Aquaculture Alliance, says global fish protein needs are anticipated to rise nearly 15% by 2030. “As we get more meal from expanded crush, we’re trying to find homes for that. Aquaculture is actually the world’s largest animal agriculture and it’s the fastest growing. And so we know that the future is pretty bright.”

He tells Brownfield the Soy Aquaculture Alliance has a number of projects underway. “We’re breeding rainbow trout to select for high soy tolerance. We’re creating literal commercial strains of a priority species in the United States, and so that it can consume the highest value of soy while maintaining fish health, feed conversion ratios, sustainability and everything.”

Kuboushek says the research can help increase the utilization of U.S. soybeans into the diets of fish and shrimp.