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Each year Evonik Industries updates a comprehensive report characterizing the composition of the U.S. soybean meal. Samples of the feed ingredients are supplied to the Evonik Health & Nutrition group by feed formulators. Their laboratory analyzes the soybean meal samples and reports values for the various geographical regions that supply the feed industry. The mean values for soybean meal for crop years 2012 to 2016 are shown in the following table.

Table 1. Meal Composition by Region-2016

Table 2. Composition of Soybean Meal for Crop Years 2012-2016 (*)

Researchers at the University of Illinois conducted an experiment to compare chemical composition and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids in soybean meal (SBM) from five countries when fed to growing pigs. Five sources of SBM from China, Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S., and four sources from India were included in diets where SBM was the sole source of amino acids. An N-free diet was also used. Twenty-five barrows weighting about 30 kg were fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum and allotted to a 25 × 8 Youden square design with 25 diets and 8 periods.

Results indicate that the concentration of crude protein was greater (P ‹ 0.05) in SBM from Brazil and India (49.3 and 49.5%) than in SBM from China, Argentina, or the U.S. (45.1, 46.7, and 47.3%), but SBM from the U.S. contained more (P ‹ 0.05) indispensable amino acids compared to SBM from China or Argentina. Indian SBM contained more (P ‹ 0.05) trypsin inhibitor units than SBM from other countries. A greater (P ‹ 0.05) SID of most amino acids was observed in SBM from the U.S. compared with SBM from Brazil, Argentina, and India. There was less (P ‹ 0.05) variability in SID values for amino acids among sources of SBM from the U.S. or Brazil compared to sources from Argentina, China, or India. The researchers concluded that the SID of amino acids in SBM is dependent on the country where the SBM is produced.

Soybean meal’s nutritional characteristics are the result of two primary factors: 1) the composition of the soybeans being processed, and 2) the processing conditions used to produce the meal. The soybean processor can alter the processing conditions to change the nutrient density (protein and energy levels) of the meal by oil and hull removal. The processor of the meal can also control the heat used in the process to control protein solubility and nutrient availability. Therefore, the processing of the soybeans is critical in assuring the resultant soybean meal is optimal for maximum end-user productivity.

A new computer-generated app has been developed to show how the processing of soybeans can be modified to improve the composition and value of soybean meal in livestock and poultry feeds. This app and a podcast that explains its use can be found at www.soymeal.org/podcasts.html. This app can be used to demonstrate how small changes in altering soybean meal’s composition can improve its value to the feed nutritionist. The goal of developing the app is for nutritionists, meal buyers and processors to realize that working together they can maximize the value of soybean meal. This could result in soybean meals that improve livestock and poultry production performance, processing efficiencies and profit potentials for both the soybean processor and end user of soybean meal.

The utilization of Fish Meal (FM) as a protein source in the Aquaculture industry has been shown not to be sustainable. Soybean meal (SBM) is a potential replacement for fishmeal in aquaculture because of the relatively high protein content, amino acid profile and digestibility, as well as its global availability and low cost. Unfortunately, to date, SBM inclusion in salmon feed has been rather limited due to poor performance and negative physiological impacts in fish fed SBM-containing diets.

Two presentations at the Aquaculture America 2017 meeting (February 17-22, 2017) took a new approach to increasing the acceptance of SBM in salmon diets. These studies were based on the observation that there are significant individual and family variation in the ability to use SBM derived protein in salmonids, and that this trait has moderately high heritability. Since adaptability to SBM utilization is heritable, it is possible to develop lines of salmon with increased efficiency in utilizing SBM as a protein source through the use of traditional selective breeding strategies. Marker assisted selection, using genetic markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with traits of interest, can be used to compliment traditional breeding and reduce the time required to achieve genetic gains.

Results of a study aimed at using genome-wide association studies to identify Atlantic salmon genomic markers associated with increased tolerance to or efficiency in utilizing SBM as a protein source were reported. The 60-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of two different SBM inclusion levels (Control and test diets with 5 and 30% SBM, respectively) on weight gain, feed efficiency, body composition, nutrient deposition, and intestinal histology. Thirty full-sib families (initial body weight of about 12 g) of Atlantic salmon were utilized for the trial. Six fish per family were allocated to six different tanks so that all families were represented equally in each tank. Each fish was tagged and each diet was allocated to three tanks. At the end of the feeding trial, the eight largest and eight smallest fish from both the top five and bottom five performing families in terms of weight gain in each treatment were selected for whole-body composition analysis and histological examination of mid and hindgut. Tissue samples from families presenting poor and good growth when fed a high SBM diet were selected and DNA was extracted.

The result of this research study using some highly sophisticated genomic approaches identified seven SNPs (in 5 different chromosomes) as being significantly correlated with growth. These markers had an average R-squared of 0.09 and explained roughly 9% of the estimated heritability of growth of Atlantic salmon when fed diets containing high levels of soybean meal. These markers, if validated with additional research, may be useful in breeding programs and facilitate higher inclusions of soybean meal in commercial diets for Atlantic salmon.

The objective of this study was to determine whether fermentation could increase apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of dry matter, nitrogen, energy and amino acids in fermented soybean meal (FSBM) compared to soybean meal (SBM) in weaned pig diets. Four weaned pigs weighing about 10 kg were surgically equipped with T-cannulas and randomly followed a 4 × 4 Latin square design of treatments (SBM, FSBM, fish meal and spray-dried plasma protein).

The results indicated the fermentation process was able to reduce the amount of anti-nutritional factors, including trypsin inhibitors, raffinose and stachyose, in the FSBM diet, which were significantly reduced by 39.4, 92.2, and 92.9%, respectively, as compared to the SBM diet. As a consequence of these reductions in FSBM, the AID of dry matter, nitrogen, energy and amino acids were significantly greater in the FSBM treatment compared to the pigs fed the SBM diet. The results of this study showed the fermentation process improved the nutritional quality of SBM, due to reduction of certain meal components and improved digestibility of amino acids. The research team concluded that FSBM could be used as a specialized feed ingredient, especially for young animal diets.