An in-focus interview with Kevin Roepke, Govt Director on the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), together with USSEC’s Vice Chair and soybean farmer, Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare, as they focus on commerce, sustainability, and constructing resilient provide chains.
As Saudi Arabia strives to fulfill its formidable Imaginative and prescient 2030 objective of attaining self-sufficiency in poultry, entry to dependable, constant, high-quality feed elements, resembling U.S. soybean meal, stays key. Since January this 12 months, The Kingdom’s imports of U.S. soybean meal have grown, signaling a preferential shift in direction of U.S. origin, a relationship constructed on belief, high quality, and reliability. Study what’s sowing the seeds of choice from the fields to the tables.
Q: Saudi Arabia has pivoted again to purchasing U.S soybean meal. What inspired patrons in Saudi Arabia to make this transition?
Kevin Roepke: Saudi Arabia is again on the map as a strategic marketplace for U.S. soybean meal. We’re proud to see this development trajectory. Buyer relationships stay central to this success. Earlier this 12 months, a delegation of our U.S. soybean farmers and I had the chance to go to Riyadh. This in-person engagement with our clients helped strengthen relationships, and we’re excited to see the market development following our go to. We’re additionally wanting ahead to internet hosting our clients from Saudi Arabia this August at our U.S. soybean farms within the U.S.
At the moment, 90,000 metric tons of U.S. soybean meal have been imported into Saudi Arabia for the present 2025/26 advertising and marketing 12 months, and we’re optimistic that it will proceed to develop. Saudi Arabia and the US already share a robust bilateral commerce relationship, with complete U.S.
companies commerce valued at $13.5 billion in 2024. U.S. soybean meal can additional deepen this mutually useful partnership.
Q: Why ought to clients select U.S. soybean meal when cheaper alternate options can be found?
Kevin Roepke: It’s not at all times in regards to the value; it’s about worth. Selecting U.S. soybean meal means that you’re investing in the next worth and, in flip, the next high quality product. The benefit of U.S. soybeans begins within the fields, and it’s unmatched. Whereas South American soybeans are grown in moist tropical climates, the local weather in the US permits for pure drying of soybeans – one thing we check with as solar-dried U.S. Soy. Whereas opponents’ soybeans require mechanical wood-fired driers to take away extra moisture – a paradoxical course of that additionally damages the beans,
U.S. soybeans don’t want any further drying. Which means their dietary integrity additionally stays intact.
Soybean meal constructed from U.S. soybeans has decrease injury, larger dryness, and better digestibility.
Q: What advantages does consistency play in feed formulation?
Kevin Roepke: With current geopolitical developments, producers all over the world are prioritizing effectivity and value optimization. Poultry feed constructed from U.S. soybean meal is persistently high-quality and full of important amino acids. This consistency gives confidence to feed formulators whereas making operational choices. Since U.S. soybean meal affords the next dietary profile than opponents, it requires fewer added elements, additional lowering manufacturing prices. U.S. soybean meal gives the precision feed formulators want to scale back security margins, preserve prices down and enhance feed conversion ratios.
The U.S. additionally has a strong provide chain to make sure clients in Saudi Arabia obtain the highest-quality soybean meal. From the farm to processing to cargo, U.S. Soy is exported with the best care, guaranteeing the very best quality reaches our clients and finish customers.
Q: How can patrons profit from U.S. Soy’s sustainability benefit?
Kevin Roepke: We’re pleased with our U.S. Soy farmers’ dedication to sustainability. U.S. soybeans are verified sustainable and have the bottom carbon footprint when in comparison with soy from different origins. Whereas international locations all over the world are deforesting to extend cropland, the U.S. has elevated its forest land by way of afforestation. U.S. Soy is produced beneath the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP). The SSAP is a strong third-party audit that ensures sustainable practices. It gives worldwide clients with assurance that soybeans and soy merchandise are produced in compliance with environmental rules, conservation legal guidelines, and accountable farming practices.
U.S. Soy clients globally can request free SSAP certificates to fulfill their ESG objectives whereas strengthening buyer confidence.
The journey towards provide chain sustainability begins at U.S. soybean farms like Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare’s. By leveraging applied sciences resembling precision agriculture and soil conservation strategies, U.S. farmers like Roberta produce sustainable feed elements, resembling U.S. Soy, that nourish the world.
Q: What affect has know-how had on the evolution of U.S. Soy farming and in your farm particularly? Which applied sciences have had the most important affect in your operation?
Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare: Expertise has reworked U.S. Soy farming from being largely reactive to far more proactive and exact. In the present day, we are able to gather and use information to make higher choices all through the season, from planting and nutrient administration to crop safety and harvest. On our farm, precision agriculture has in all probability had the most important affect. GPS steerage, yield mapping, variable-rate know-how and precision planting all assist us put the suitable inputs in the suitable place on the proper time. That improves effectivity, helps us handle prices and helps our sustainability objectives by lowering waste whereas sustaining productiveness.
Expertise does not substitute expertise; it enhances it. We nonetheless depend on our data of the land, however at this time’s instruments permit us to make extra knowledgeable choices that profit each our operation and the surroundings.
Q: Why is soil conservation not a one-size-fits-all method?
Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare: Soil conservation is not about following one recipe; it is about understanding the land you are farming. Each farm, and each discipline, has its personal traits, whether or not that is soil kind, slope, drainage, or native climate patterns. Profitable conservation means adapting your method to the precise situations of every discipline whereas retaining the identical objective in thoughts: defending the soil so it stays productive for years to return. As U.S. Soy farmers, we’re continually evaluating what works greatest for our land as a result of wholesome soil is the inspiration of every little thing we do.
Soil is one among our most precious sources, so caring for it’s a year-round dedication, not one thing we take into consideration solely throughout planting or harvest. Each season is a chance to study and enhance. We repeatedly consider our administration practices and search for methods to guard soil construction, cut back erosion, enhance water infiltration, and construct long-term soil well being.
Wholesome soil advantages everybody. It helps productive U.S. Soy crops, improves resilience throughout altering climate situations and helps guarantee our land stays productive for future generations.
Q: What are the methods for various soils, topographies, and geographies?
Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare: One of many largest classes in farming is that each acre is completely different. Soil kind, topography, and geography all affect how we handle our fields. Some soils maintain moisture higher than others, whereas some are extra liable to erosion or require completely different nutrient administration. That is why we tailor our administration practices to the distinctive traits of every discipline as an alternative of making use of the identical method throughout the whole farm.
Precision agriculture has made that much more efficient, permitting us to match administration choices to the precise wants of every space whereas bettering each productiveness and sustainability. Our farm consists of a wide range of landscapes, and every requires its personal administration technique.
River backside floor is usually a few of our best land due to its wealthy soils, however it additionally comes with the chance of flooding, so water administration is at all times prime of thoughts.
Hill floor requires a larger deal with defending the soil from erosion. We use conservation practices like no-till or strip until, the place seeds are planted immediately into crop residue with minimal disturbance or turning over the soil. This prevents erosion, preserves moisture and builds more healthy, microorganism-rich soil. Flat floor presents completely different challenges, significantly round drainage and water administration. Making certain water strikes effectively by way of these fields helps shield soil well being and helps robust U.S. Soy yields.
The frequent thread throughout all of those landscapes is that there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. We handle every discipline based on its distinctive situations, with the objective of manufacturing high-quality U.S. Soy whereas defending the pure sources that make it doable.
Q: What’s the strategy of exporting soybeans out of your farm to worldwide markets like Saudi Arabia?
The US has a various and well-connected transportation system, together with waterways, freight rail, and vehicles. My farm again house in Illinois is near the river, which makes crop motion to world markets quick and environment friendly. We even have storage bins on our farm to retailer soybeans after harvest and ship them all year long. Illinois has the benefit of three waterways. The barge transportation system helps us ship our soybeans to export terminals, permitting for brief transport home windows and minimal dealing with to protect high quality.
