A Balanced Diet

Reasons that soybean meal is the gold standard for supplying amino acids in animal feed

When it comes to animal feed ingredients, not all options are created equal. And today, more than ever, livestock, poultry and aquaculture producers are looking for higher-quality feedstuffs to meet the nutritional needs of their animals.

According to Bob Thaler, an Extension swine specialist at South Dakota State University, soybean meal contains a well-balanced nutritional bundle for hog feed.

“Today’s hog farmers are looking for the highest-quality feed options,” Thaler says. “There are ten essential amino acids (EAAs) that pigs need for growth and they all must be supplied by the feed they eat.”

In order to keep animal agriculture as the biggest user of U.S. soybean meal, farmers can seek out soybean varieties that will deliver the nutrient bundle of amino acids, energy, vitamins and minerals that animal nutritionists demand. Use the Soybean Quality Toolbox, a tool developed by the soy checkoff to find top-performing varieties in your area.

The presence of EAAs is not the only marker for a high quality feed. EAAs must also be balanced in the correct ratios and must be digestible, or absorbable by the pig. The digestibility of lysine in soybean meal is estimated at 85 percent, while threonine and tryptophan are typically assessed at 80 percent digestibility.

“Amino acid availability differs greatly among feedstuffs,” says Thaler. “But no single feed ingredient has a better and more economical available EAA balance for pigs, poultry and aquaculture than soybean meal.”