GÜNER GÖVENÇ INTERVIEW

The nutriNews International team had the opportunity to interview Güner Gövenç, Production and Agricultural Engineer from Türkiye. Mr. Gövenç’s expertise focuses on poultry nutrition and use of soybean meal in animal feed.

Soybean meal has been the gold standard protein source in poultry nutrition for decades. What characteristics make it so difficult to replace completely in commercial poultry diets?

Soybean meal remains the gold standard primarily due to its exceptional amino acid profile, particularly its high concentrations of digestible lysine and tryptophan, which perfectly complement cereal grains like corn.

Its low fiber content and high nutrient consistency make it incredibly difficult to completely replace without relying heavily on synthetic amino acids and complex enzyme cocktails, which can drastically increase formulation costs.

Soybean meal remains the nutritional baseline because it combines high amino acid quality, low fiber and a highly predictable nutrient profile.

Feed ingredient quality can vary considerably between suppliers and regions. Which quality parameters of soybean meal do you believe nutritionists should pay the closest attention to when formulating poultry diets?

Nutritionists must look far beyond just crude protein. The geographical origin of the soybean significantly impacts its inherent amino acid profile. More importantly, parameters like Reactive Lysine, KOH protein solubility, and Urease Activity are critical. These indicators reveal the precise thermal history of the meal during the extraction and toasting process—telling us instantly if the meal is under-processed (leaving anti-nutritional factors active) or over-processed (where Maillard reactions destroy valuable amino acids).

Anti-nutritional factors continue to be an important topic in soybean processing. How do these compounds affect bird performance, and what strategies can be used to mitigate their impact?

Anti-nutritional factors, primarily trypsin inhibitors, disrupt protein digestion, leading to poor growth, poor feed conversion ratios, and pancreatic hypertrophy in birds.

The primary mitigation strategy is precise thermal processing at the oil extraction plant. However, the exact temperature-time-moisture matrix during the desolventizing phase is a delicate balance. It requires strict process control to deactivate the inhibitors without denaturing the critical proteins the bird needs.

The poultry industry is increasingly evaluating alternative protein ingredients. Which alternatives do you believe currently show the greatest potential, and what are their main advantages and limitations?

Insect meal, particularly from Black Soldier Fly larvae, shows tremendous biological potential due to its highly digestible protein and natural fit in poultry diets. Fermented plant proteins and high-protein DDGS (Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles) are also very promising.

Their main advantage lies in circular economy integration and localized production. The primary limitations, however, are large-scale production costs, supply consistency, and managing the variability in their nutrient composition compared to standardized soybean meal.

Sustainability has become a major driver of feed innovation. How do you see the balance between maintaining bird performance and reducing the environmental footprint of protein sources?

Anti-nutritional factors, primarily trypsin inhibitors, disrupt protein digestion, leading to poor growth, poor feed conversion ratios, and pancreatic hypertrophy in birds.

The ultimate balance is achieved through precision nutrition. By using advanced formulation software and real-time NIR analysis, we can formulate diets strictly based on standardized ileal digestible (SID) amino acids rather than total crude protein. This allows us to lower the overall protein levels in the feed, drastically reduce nitrogen excretion into the environment, and incorporate sustainable local by-products without sacrificing a single gram of bird performance.

Ingredient prices and supply chain volatility have increased significantly in recent years. How should nutritionists approach feed formulation when traditional ingredients become expensive or difficult to source?

Agility and dynamic matrix formulation are key. Nutritionists can no longer rely on static formulas. They must continuously update their ingredient databases, fully leverage exogenous feed enzymes (like proteases and phytases) to unlock nutritional value from cheaper ingredients, and expertly balance crystalline synthetic amino acids. Relying on a single dominant protein source is a major financial risk in today’s volatile market.

Advances in feed processing and analytical techniques have improved our understanding of ingredient quality. Are there any emerging technologies or quality assessment methods that you believe will become particularly important in the future? managed in an integrated manner?

In-line, real-time Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy at the extraction and feed mill level is completely changing the game. It allows operators to monitor protein quality and reactive lysine dynamically during the heating process.

Furthermore, advanced in-vitro digestibility models are becoming faster and more sophisticated, giving us the ability to predict exactly how the bird’s gut will respond to a specific batch of feed before it ever reaches the farm.

“Furthermore, advanced in-vitro digestibility models are becoming faster and more sophisticated, giving us the ability to predict exactly how the bird’s gut will respond to a specific batch of feed before it ever reaches the farm.”

Poultry genetics continue to evolve, with birds becoming more efficient and productive. How are these genetic improvements changing the industry’s requirements for protein quality and amino acid nutrition?

Modern broilers are genetically programmed for rapid early growth and exceptional breast meat yield. This shifts the nutritional focus heavily onto the first 14 days of life. The requirement isn’t just “more protein,” but specifically highly digestible essential amino acids at exact ratios. The margin for error is now razor-thin; any deficiency in protein quality or slight amino acid imbalance immediately restricts the bird’s genetic potential.

Looking ahead, do you believe soybean meal will continue to dominate poultry nutrition, or do you foresee a more diversified protein landscape over the next decade?

Due to its sheer global scale, agronomic efficiency, and predictable nutritional profile, soybean meal will remain the foundational baseline. However, we are undeniably entering a “hybrid” era.

We will see a highly diversified landscape where baseline soybean meal is continuously supplemented and buffered with localized alternative proteins, advanced synthetic amino acids, and tailored enzymes to mitigate supply chain risks and achieve strict sustainability goals.

If you could give poultry nutritionists and feed manufacturers one key message regarding the evaluation and use of soybean meal and alternative proteins, what would it be?

My key message is:

“Not all soybean meal is created equal.”

Never formulate based on textbook averages. You must rigorously evaluate the specific origin, understand the thermal processing history from the extraction plant, and formulate strictly based on digestible amino acids, not total crude protein, to truly optimize both performance and profitability.

The global soybean market is facing increasing uncertainty due to trade tensions, changing export patterns, and geopolitical challenges. How do you think these developments will shape the future of poultry nutrition and the industry’s dependence on soybean meal over the coming years?

Uncertainties in the global soybean market are driving the poultry industry toward alternative proteins and precision nutrition models. However, due to soy’s excellent amino acid profile, this dependence will never completely disappear.

In the coming years, soy inclusion rates in feed rations will proportionally decrease through alternative sources and advanced enzyme technologies.

Nevertheless, the poultry sector is expanding rapidly due to rising global food demand. Consequently, even if its percentage in formulas drops, this massive sector growth means that the total volume of soy required by the industry is expected to keep increasing.

In your opinion, what is the next major innovation that will shape protein nutrition in poultry production?

I believe the next major innovation to shape protein nutrition in poultry production will be the integration of “Precision Fermentation” (Single-Cell Proteins) with “Nutrigenomics” and artificial intelligence.

In the future, the industry will pivot toward bioreactors, eliminating its dependence on arable land and climate conditions. Thanks to single-cell proteins such as microalgae, bacteria, and yeast produced in these systems, amino acid profiles that are perfectly suited to the poultry digestive system and approach 100% digestibility can be custom-designed at the cellular level. This will move us beyond standard crude protein calculations and into the realm of nutrigenomics.

Specific bioactive peptides in the feed will not only build muscle tissue but will also act as functional tools that influence the animal’s DNA and gene expression, regulating gut health and triggering genetic resistance to diseases.

This entire biological process will be managed by AI-supported dynamic rationing systems. The daily physiological needs, environmental factors, and stress levels of the flocks will be analyzed in real time via sensors. Instead of rations that remain fixed for weeks, micro-dosed synthetic amino acid and enzyme formulas—changing daily or even hourly depending on the flock’s specific needs—will be applied.

In summary, the protein innovation of the future will not be limited to merely finding a new raw material; it will transform feed from a standard input into a smart, targeted system that manages the bird’s genetic potential, immunity, and growth in real time.

From soybean meal quality and thermal processing to alternative proteins, NIR, nutrigenomics and AI, the interview points toward a future where poultry protein nutrition becomes increasingly dynamic, data-driven and precise.