Syngenta Seeds has formed a partnership with the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) and the USA’s United Soybean Board (USB) to advance the livestock nutritional value of its soyabean varieties.
“Soyabean producers are losing sales to synthetic feed ingredients and other grains,” said ISA chairman Doug Schroeder on 27 January. “Syngenta’s focus will help farmers fight serious market share and revenue losses in critical swine feed markets.
“Soyabean meal in swine feed rations has dropped 70% since 1990, largely replaced by synthetic amino acids and corn by-products such as dried distillers’ grain with solubles (DDGS).
More than 70% of US soyabeans are fed to livestock across the swine, dairy, beef and poultry sectors, according to the ISA.
Schroeder praised Syngenta for being the first multinational seed company to take a public stand for soyabean quality.
Switzerland-based Syngenta AG, owned by Chinese state-owned enterprise ChemChina, is a leading crop chemical and seed producer.
“Seed company involvement is critical to the identification, development and promotion of select soyabean varieties that will help producers meet the needs of their customers,” Schroeder said.
Syngenta would identify and promote soyabean varieties and corn hybrids from its portfolio that had the nutritional characteristics most sought after by livestock and ethanol producers, he added.
Syngenta’s strategic marketing manager for soyabeans, Travis Kriegshauser, said many farmers took livestock nutritional criteria into account, along with yield and agronomic traits, when making seed-selection decisions.
