Could mushroom stems offer a low-cost soybean alternative?

A research effort to identify lower-cost alternatives to soybeans in poultry diets points in an unusual direction: not to one of the usual suspects such as insects or single-cell proteins, but to mushrooms — specifically, trimmings from mushrooms intended for human consumption.

Initial feeding trials found replacing 10-20% soybean meal with dried mushroom stems improved egg production and egg quality, with deeper yolk color evident as early as two weeks into the new diet, according to Jayant Lohakare, the lead researcher on the study and a research professor at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU).