Precision Fermentation Transforms Soybean Meal into High-Value Salmon Feed

A Scandinavian transplant to South Dakota is promoting the sustainable feeding of salmon, and it means an opportunity for soybean growers. Norway is known for its salmon. Geir Ivar Lanes is a native of that country and is now the global business developer for Brookings, South Dakota-based Houdek. With three decades of work in aquaculture, Lanes knows salmon diets. He’s working to shift those diets away from traditional fish meal and fish oil.

“So, this is where Houdek comes into the picture because our precision fermented soybean meal works as a partial replacer for the fish meal, meaning we can still get the same properties as a marine ingredient in our aquaculture while being able to use a sustainable source, meaning soybean,” Lanes told the South Dakota Soybean Network.

As Lanes pointed out, what makes soybean meal a highly suited ration for Norwegian salmon is Houdek’s precision fermentation process.

“We take away all these anti-nutrients, the fibers. We break down the proteins into smaller peptides so it's much more easily digestible for the fish. [Meal from precision fermented soybeans] has a unique amino acid profile that resembles fish meal. And it has some post-phyto and prebiotics coming from the fungi that we use,” he explained. “It's a long story, but that's the gist of it.”

Soybeans destined for the precision fermentation process and salmon feed are of a higher value, but there is a catch. Houdek is seeking soybeans that, according to Lanes, are not genetically modified.

“We are concerned about the availability of non-GMO soy. We know it's harder to produce. We know it's more expensive to produce. But it gives you access into a higher value segment. I think Houdek actually uses about 30 percent of the non-GMO soybeans produced in South Dakota. A lot of the other non-GMO soybeans go to Japan and Taiwan for human nutrition,” he said, adding “So, the message is more non-GMO soy, please.”