Corn & Soy Free Poultry
By Jeff Mattocks
Corn & Soy Free poultry, both meat and eggs, are the fastest growing demands of consumers. Part of me wish I were wrong. I have tried for years to have intelligent conversations with consumers and producers. I have not gotten very far with my efforts. Each time there is a new loud voice in human health and nutrition the pendulum changes direction. At the end of the day, it does not matter what I think, how I feel or my opinion. When the customer wants (demands) a particularly raised meat or egg their mind is made up. Instead of trying to change their mind, just give them what they want. If the new production model takes longer and cost more, you need to pass on that cost. “The customer is always right!” is how I was raised to believe. Give them what they want. If they are willing to pay the price. So far, the consumer is willing to pay the price.
Why are they asking for corn and soy free? There are assorted reasons that I have heard through the grapevine. First was, “All corn and soy are genetically modified.” Then I heard, “It’s not natural for the animals to eat corn and soy.” But these people do not get out much to see the wildlife eating in the corn and soybean fields. The newest concerns include polyunsaturated fats, lectin content, and glyphosate residue in the grains. Just a small overview of consumer concerns.
With all that preface information let us talk about how to grow corn and soy free poultry products. There is a large amount of misinformation on proper diet formulations when corn and soy are replaced. What we do know are the diet requirements for healthy and productive poultry. This information has been evaluated, trialed and published for people to learn from. Replacing corn in a diet is not as difficult as replacing soy protein. Corn is easily replaced with grain sorghum – a.k.a. milo. Milo and corn share similar energy and protein values. In most cases corn can be replaced with milo at equal amounts. The birds will be better suited whether using corn, milo, or any other grain to have diversity of grains. If we step back and think about or observe our poultry in a natural environment, they will eat a variety of different things. This is natural. Well, when working out feed formulas why not incorporate diversity? We are finding that diets containing milo, wheat, barley, oats, and other carbohydrate grains perform better than basic or minimal input diets. Replacing soybeans is a completely different situation. The difficulty in replacing soybeans is much broader issue. You will be replacing protein, amino acids, fats, fiber, and some carbohydrates. Furthermore, we rely on the soybean for a good portion of the phosphorus in the feed formula. When replacing soybeans in a poultry or swine diet, we often require 3 to 4 different types of proteins. These would include field peas, sesame meal, fish meal, shrimp meals, sunflower meals, flax (linseed) meals, canola meals, and others. Those are the most common replacements. There are newer options emerging in the marketplace. You may see black soldier fly larvae, either fresh or dried. Some folks are using meal worms either fresh or dried. The insect products are not being produced at a large enough or cost-effective enough level to supply the need of the market. Renewed interests in things like duckweed, mosquito fern, moringa, sprouts and other plant-based ingredients. They are novel ideas for sure. These vegetative based proteins lack necessary energy to maintain body condition and production levels.
Formulating and balancing corn and soy free feed is extremely difficult to balance all required nutrients. It is not as simple as replacing soy with peas or replacing corn with wheat. Proper protein, energy, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids need to be met for proper health and production. Meanwhile, each alternative proteins have antinutritional limitations with side-effects.
Hopefully, this information has not left you feeling deflated or discouraged. Proper corn and soy free diets are possible. Our nutrition team does them every day of the week. We are happy to guide you through the process of getting a well balance corn and soy free diet. These formulas are not easy by any stretch of imagination. But they are possible.
