Iowa soybeans head all over the globe, and a good chunk of them go to China. The recent Iowa soybean delegation to China visiting Guangdong province and observed the beans in their final state – animal feed.
As China has about two thirds of the world’s aquaculture industry, a large quantity of soybeans pass through feed mills and become fish food or in some cases, shrimp food.
A shrimp like this is ready for market, and per pound is worth about $3.50.
Chinese producers with freshwater ponds raise shrimp, catifsh, which cause the water to boil when they’re fed.
Iowa Soybean Association President-Elect Brian Kemp stands over catfish as they’re fed in Guangdong province.
There’s even a market for puffer fish, which Ken described as “fat little pigs with tiny fins, just waiting for their next meal, not realizing that’s what they’d be as soon as they were large enough.”
Puffer fish are deadly in the wild, but in freshwater ponds, Chinese farmers say they’re harmless.
