US, Afghanistan partner to create soy processing plant

Afghanistan's first commercial soybean value chain has been established through the partnership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food for Progress Program, the American Soybean Association's World Initiative for Soy in Human Health Program, and the Soybeans in Agricultural Renewal of Afghanistan Initiative.
People and livestock alike will benefit from the high-protein soy flour, soy meal and crude soybean oil produced at the Mazar-e-Sharif soybean processing facility. A solid supply of soybeans is key to the processing plant serving as a reliable source to its customers, said the partners, and throughout the three-year project, more than 200,000 bushels of U.S. soybeans will augment local production processed in the plant.

Developing country markets like Afghanistan represent a growing demand for U.S. feed ingredients, said Perdue Grain and Oilseed Vice president John Cassidy. For example, the USDA purchased 1,500 metric tons of soybeans for the processing plant’s use from Perdue’s partnership with Commercial Lynks, a Virginia-based trading company. Perdue has more than 70 grain elevators east of the Mississippi River and used Michigan and Ohio soybeans for the USDA purchase.
In 2011, the project assisted 891 Afghan farmers, including 91 women, in producing the country’s first commercial crop of soybeans on a total of approximately 450 acres. In 2012, 3,325 Afghan farmers, including 300 women, are planting soybeans.

UK pig producers try legumes in Green Pig project

A group of UK pig producers in the midlands region is hosting commercial-scale trials to assess the potential of using home-grown legumes in growing/finishing pig diets as a means of reducing environmental burden and soya bean meal dependency in UK pig production.
The “Green Pig” project is a collaborative effort between research and industrial partners and is sponsored by the government through the Sustainable Livestock Production LINK Programme. The project has already revealed that higher levels of peas and beans than are currently used in the UK can be included in rations for grower and finisher pigs without significant penalties on growth performance or slaughter measures. Furthermore, there is no difference between pea and faba bean-based diets, suggesting that farmers can choose the pulse which best suits them.

UK pig industry looks to reduce soya reliance

A major project is investigating how distillers’ dried grains with solubles can help reduce the pig industry’s reliance on imported proteins, including soya.
Known as the ‘ENBBIO LINK project’, it will assess both the environmental and nutritional benefits of bioethanol co-products. The British Pig Executive is one of 25 industry and academic partners investing in the collaborative three-year project, which started in October 2010. It is sponsored by government through the Sustainable Livestock Production LINK program.
Reliance on imported soya as the main protein source in the UK pig industry has recently raised environmental concerns relating to land use change and, specifically, the release of carbon from cropping of high carbon stock soils. “DDGS provides an opportunity to supply the UK feed industry with large quantities of a consistent and high-quality co-product which could have a positive impact on energy and nutrient utilization and, at the same time, reduce levels of imported proteins," said BPEX environment project manager Anna Davis. "This would, in turn, help pig producers manage their feed costs more effectively in the long term.”
The project aims to:

• Quantify sources of variability in DDGS
• Identify opportunities to enhance its value
• Consider the nutritional implications of innovative processes to reduce fiber content
• Quantify the contribution of the co-products to the overall GHG balance of UK crop, livestock and ethanol production 

Ukraine corn crop improved by favorable weather

Ukraine's corn and sunflower crops have been improved by recent rainfall, according to Mykola Bezuhlyi, first deputy agriculture minister.
“Rains in general had a positive impact on the future harvest, especially for late crops like corn, sunflower and soya,” said Bezuhlyi. The lack of rain has already caused significant damage to the country's spring barley crop, which recorded losses amounting to tens of thousands of hectares, according to reports.

The use of proteases in corn-soya diets

Prior to deciding on a protease, a number of factors need to be carefully examined. Read the full article in Feed International.