As farmers know, U.S. soybeans are consistent and dependable. That consistency has proven to be a dependable protein replacement for fishmeal, a costly addition to aquaculture diets.
According to a 2020 study, total soybean demand in U.S. aquaculture in 2018 was 8.6 million bushels. These numbers are only continuing to grow; aquaculture is the fastest growing domestic protein sector, with a market value of $160 billion and an expected compounding annual growth rate of 2.5 percent until 2030.
Americans eat an average of 16 pounds of seafood per year, amounting to nearly 900 million pounds of salmon and trout alone. However, the U.S. is only producing about 80 million pounds of those fish.
While almost all U.S.-based aquaculture feeds are sourced from U.S. farmers, there is an opportunity to boost this amount with the increase of domestic aquaculture. Increasing soybean inclusion rates in those diets will also increase the opportunity in this growing segment for U.S. soybean farmers. The dependability of U.S. soybeans has led to more than 240 million bushels of soybeans used globally.
