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Should Origin Come into the Calculation When Formulating Poultry and Swine Feeds?

As geographical location and growing conditions influence the chemical composition, amino acid profile and energy content of the soybeans, peer-reviewed publications show soybeans from different origins deliver different nutritional values. Couple this along with processing conditions, and scientists can determine the final quality of the soybean meal under evaluation.

Regarding the energy content of feed ingredients, it’s worth noting that feed represents up to 75% of the total production cost with the energy component representing at least 60% of total feed costs. Thus, an accurate estimate of the actual available energy (absorbed fats, carbohydrates and proteins) from the ingredients is required to ensure we meet the animal’s nutrient requirements and optimize performance.

Moreover, dietary energy values depend on the content and digestibility of amino acids and on the efficiency of protein retention in animal products, such as meat, milk and eggs.

For that reason, those working on behalf of the U.S. Soybean Export Council in the Americas region are interested in detecting differences relative to the nutritional composition of soybeans from different origins and the impact on the energy contribution of soybean meals once incorporated in poultry and swine formulations. This will enable the team to help our customers make sound purchasing decisions.

During 2020, we saw differences in the content of crude protein, fiber and fat, and total sugars. Data indicate that the concentration of crude protein was greater in Brazilian soybean meal (SBM) compared to SBM from Argentina and the United States, 48.27%, 46.63% and 47.35%, respectively.

Nevertheless, the concentration of essential amino acids such as methionine, cysteine threonine, and tryptophane per unit of protein was higher for U.S. SBM than for Brazilian SBM. Similarly, the arginine and cysteine concentration was greater in U.S. soybean meal compared with the SBM from Argentina. Also, total sugars and sucrose content was higher in U.S. SBM compared with Brazilian SBM.

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Ask A Farmer: How are broiler chickens raised in Canada?

Video: Ask A Farmer: How are broiler chickens raised in Canada?

As more and more Canadians become removed from farms and ranches, many people have questions about how animals are being raised on Canadian farms. Tiffany Martinka is active on social media and has made a point of sharing how their family farm takes care of their chickens. In this podcast, Tiffany explains the audited programs that all Canadian farmers must follow and describes how this system of raising chickens is unique in a global setting.

The main points of this podcast include:

What it is like on a broiler chicken farm and the process that chicken farmers go through.

The different programs that farmers must follow, and be audited on, to be licensed to sell broiler chicken in Canada.

The full circle of practices on Tiffany’s family farm, including growing their own feed for chickens, then recycling the manure back onto the fields to grow future crops.