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Soybean meal delivers a great nutrient bundle for pigs
While the protein that soybean meal provides animals is important, it merely scratches the surface on why soybean meal is such a beneficial animal-feed ingredient. U.S. soybean meal’s nutritional bundle goes well beyond crude protein to include amino acids, energy, vitamins and minerals. The value of this nutritional bundle is especially important when it comes to pigs.
“Soybean meal is a great source of amino acids, and amino acids are essential for pigs,” says Tom Crenshaw, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Wisconsin. “They are the building blocks for proteins. When we think about muscle or lean tissue, the amino acids in soybean meal would be the building blocks for those.”
The relationship between animal ag and soybean farmers has been flourishing for decades. In fact, Crenshaw says soybean meal has been a primary source of supplemental amino acids in animal feeds for more than 50 years.
It is important for soybean farmers to continue to provide customers with high-quality soybean meal that contains a solid bundle of amino acids, energy, vitamins and minerals since they are important nutrients in swine feeds. U.S. farmers can select high-quality soybean varieties that do not sacrifice yield by asking their seed dealer for such varieties or by using the Soybean Quality Toolbox.
