Opening the U.S. Soy℠-sponsored symposium at the 2026 American Society of Animal Sciences Midwest meeting, Dr. Robert Easter, Professor Emeritus of swine nutrition and President Emeritus, University of Illinois, presented on the history of soybeans and soybean meal in swine diet formulations.

“Nutrition as a science was very rudimentary [in 1900], but they did appreciate that protein was something helpful to animals,” Dr. Easter says, beginning the journey of his presentation through the history of the corn-soy diet for swine.

“It continues today, in this seminar… We continue to discover things about soybeans that are beneficial and we want to take advantage of in feeding livestock,” states Dr. Easter. “I don’t know what comes next, but I’m convinced that nutrition scientists will continue to look for and find bioactive molecules and other things that we can consider as being additional values that our pigs are getting from this ingredient.”

Learn more about the history of soybeans in swine rations by watching the video below or watch the interview with The Pig Site here. View more presentations from this symposium here.