Part 1: US Wheat Hooks Salmon Feed Market

Wheat is finding a new market in aquaculture. US Wheat Associates is promoting the grain as a key ingredient in salmon feed in South America. US Wheat Director of Communications, Julia Debes,

“So in Chile, salmon are produced in pens that are off the shore, and so feed ingredients have to do some very specific things. They require a lot of energy resource because salmon are constantly moving and eating as they grow. And because of that, they need a really high fat content in their feed a salmon pellet is actually about 40% oil. And so one of the reasons that wheat is a really important part of that ration is they have to find exactly the right binding agent that can serve as a particle that can expand and hold as much of that oil content as possible, so that the oil doesn't just drip out. You can't have an oily pellet. It won't flow in the right space in the water, and it also that oil content is what those fish need the best.”

Debes says wheat's binding properties keep feed pellets intact long enough for salmon to consume them. She says this is crucial because salmon won't touch broken or crumbling feed. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for part two of this report as we look into how US wheat associates hopes to expand the aquaculture market beyond South America.