The two-day technical seminar organized by USSEC Turkey on April 2–3, 2026, in Istanbul brought together global experts and feed industry decision-makers around the shared denominators of raw material quality and next-generation technologies. This strategic gathering provided participants with a concrete roadmap for competitive advantage, spanning from the field to smart factory transformation. The formula for profitability was effectively rewritten across the core themes of sustainability, ration stability, and digitalization, highlighted in presentations by leading academics and consultants.

The seminar organized by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) Turkey on April 2–3, 2026, in Istanbul brought together feed industry decision-makers with an eye-opening agenda that challenged conventional assumptions. Held during a period when the sector is seeking direction amid global volatility, supply chain crises, and agriflationary pressures, the event dissected key structural pillars of the industry, ranging from the agronomic anatomy of the crude protein concept to operational risks on extrusion lines, and from digital data integration to the role of artificial intelligence in diet formulation. Redefining the delicate balance between sustainability and biological predictability rather than focusing solely on cost optimization, the seminar opened the door to a visionary new era across all production disciplines from field to factory. The prominent highlights and technical outcomes emerging from this strategic meeting serve as a comprehensive roadmap for feed sector stakeholders.

LATITUDE EFFECT ON SOYBEAN QUALITY AND THE CRUDE PROTEIN ILLUSION

Guillermo Fondevila

Guillermo Fondevila, an expert from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), pointed out in his presentation that operational diligence within the feed industry cannot overcome the structural limitations imposed by the original raw material. Listing harvest year, geographical latitude, and logistical conditions as the fundamental factors determining soybean quality, Fondevila noted that while tropical production areas near the equator (such as Brazil) yield higher crude protein and oil due to high temperatures and humidity, they carry significant quality risks due to delayed harvests and drying errors. Historical data shared during the presentation indicated that the percentage of damaged beans stands at 5.92% for Brazilian soy, compared to just 1.18% for U.S. soybeans. Arguing that the standard crude protein calculation (CP = N x 6.25) does not fully reflect amino acid efficiency in tropical soy and can lead to an illusion, the academic noted that U.S. soy grown in temperate climates, with higher sucrose content (5.86% versus 4.64%) and a lower oleic acid profile, provides a statistically more robust, more digestible and higher energy-potential nutritional profile for diet formulation.

Fondevila emphasized that technical differences between ambient air drying and wood-fire drying during the post-harvest phase directly impact product quality, adding that transit delays in port logistics can drive damaged bean rates from around 1.3% up to 11.1% at destination ports. Reminding the audience that visual inspections alone are insufficient for quality control processes and that protein quality indicators (PQI) such as oleic acidity, peroxide value, and urease activity must be meticulously analyzed, the speaker added that production carried out without knowing the geographical history and laboratory parameters of the original bean at raw material reception cannot guarantee the final product’s nutritional value or the formulation’s success.

RAW MATERIAL CRITERIA AND EXTRUSION OPTIMIZATION IN FULL-FAT SOYBEAN PRODUCTION

Dr. Mian N. Riaz from Texas A&M University analyzed the formula for achieving sustainable quality in full-fat soybean (FFS) production through raw material management, storage discipline, and extrusion parameters. Drawing attention to the 10 most common processing mistakes in FFS manufacturing, Riaz stated that shortcomings in cleaning, destoning, and drying processes, combined with the use of worn machinery parts, cause high variation in chemical composition. The expert explained that if the moisture threshold of 10-12% in raw materials is breached, or if ambient oxygen contact triggers chain reactions in fatty acids, the raw material can spoil within hours should storage temperatures climb above the critical threshold of 70°C. Stating that localized wet spots forming under these conditions accelerate mold and bacterial colonization, Dr. Riaz stressed that regular laboratory and peroxide analyses are essential to prevent these risks.

Mian N. Riaz

Emphasizing that raw material quality directly determines processing performance and final product quality, Dr. Riaz highlighted the specific advantages that U.S. soy offers to the sector. Noting that U.S. soy stands out in the global market due to its homogenous structure, low foreign matter content, and high protein composition (~44-48% in meal equivalents)—which is particularly critical for full-fat products—the academic reported that these commodities are produced utilizing precision agricultural technologies under the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP). According to Dr. Riaz’s data, this raw material discipline facilitates process management by ensuring ease of dehulling and high extrusion efficiency, while also optimizing the deactivation of anti-nutritional factors (ANF) like trypsin inhibitors and preserving amino acid digestibility.

The speaker pointed out that suboptimal practices, such as adding water afterward to reduce moisture loss during production or failing to sufficiently cool the final product, directly shorten storage stability. To standardize FFS quality, he recommended establishing a robust quality management system that integrates standard operating procedures (SOPs), regular personnel training, and data-driven analytical decisions.

ORIGIN IMPACT AND DIET STABILITY IN SUSTAINABLE FEED FORMULATION

In his first presentation, USSEC consultant and monogastric nutritionist Kees Geerse analyzed the future of the feed industry beyond the constraints of least-cost formulation, anchoring it on least-impact environmental criteria and operational predictability. Citing the GFLI 3.0 database issued in January 2026, Geerse noted that feed production accounts for 45% of the global carbon footprint of livestock, and asserted that choosing the right origin, rather than eliminating soybean meal from formulas, is the real solution. The expert stated that when land use change (LUC) and drying technology criteria are included, preferring U.S. soy over Brazilian options reduces carbon emissions by 25% to 40% in poultry meat production and by 28% in egg production, noting that U.S. soy delivers the lowest CO2 emissions per unit of crude protein. Geerse underscored that while ensuring overall supply chain sustainability, purchasing, formulation, and quality control (QC) departments must operate via a centralized data platform rather than working through disconnected Excel files.

Kees Geerse

Addressing precision nutrition and laboratory optimization in his second presentation, Geerse challenged certain conventional assumptions in the industry, claiming that while NIRS technology is an excellent tool for controlling raw material variability and validating suppliers, adjusting diets constantly based on every instantaneous analysis disrupts predictability in biological performance. Pointing out that frequent diet changes lead to adaptation stress in animals and that the cheapest formula on paper can cause hidden losses in the field, the speaker reminded the audience that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, emphasizing that data gaps between departments undermine operational success. The expert added that shifting from the traditional AMEn approach for poultry to standardized AMEs and ultimately Net Energy (NE) systems will improve formulation accuracy. He concluded that a successful feed mill operation is not one that constantly reacts to short-term financial fluctuations, but a teamwork effort that preserves biological stability and long-term profitability through standard operating procedures (SOPs) and integrated automation interfaces

“ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS A CO-PILOT, NOT A THREAT TO EXPERTS”

Another critical highlight of the event was the presentation on artificial intelligence by software consultant Arpad Zsok, which has rapidly captured the industry’s attention in recent years. Zsok, a seasoned expert from Bestmix Software, stated that static nutrient matrices in traditional formulation fail to capture quality fluctuations based on raw material origin and location. Explaining that AI algorithms can analyze this variability to generate dynamic baseline models that break formulation biases, Zsok emphasized that the critical threshold for success lies in data quality. According to pilot project data shared during the presentation, predictive models that record a 40% accuracy rate when running on raw data reach an 80% accuracy rate without requiring additional coding once animal species, product category, and process type are correctly labeled (data labeling). It was noted that by establishing this data discipline, artificial intelligence will position itself not as a replacement for nutritionists or plant operators, but as a “co-pilot” that safeguards corporate memory and reduces operational risks.

The presentation outlined how algorithmic guidance provided by AI on the production and quality control fronts can standardize line management, moving it away from reliance on operators’ personal gut feelings. Stating that the system achieved a high model accuracy of 92% (R2 = 0.92) in moisture content prediction, the speaker shared data demonstrating a net reduction of up to 10% in start-up waste, 33% in production scrap, and 50% in moisture fluctuations. It was emphasized that artificial intelligence is not a theory for the distant future, but is already active in the field today for initial recipe estimation in formulation, extrusion optimization in production, and predictive management in quality control. Asserting that a factory’s greatest competitive advantage is its own data, the expert concluded that human oversight and data quality must remain at the center in line with the core principle of “garbage in, garbage out,” and recommended that the first step in digitalization should be taken through a single pilot project offering a clear return on investment (ROI).