Amino acid digestibility in soybean meal sourced from different regions of the United States and fed to pigs.

An experiment was conducted to determine the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) by growing pigs of AA in soybean meal (SBM) produced in different regions of the United States. Twenty-two growing barrows (25.5 ± 1.73 kg) were fitted with a T-cannula near the distal ileum and allotted to a 22 × 8 Youden square design. Twenty-two sources of SBM were procured from soybean crushing plants located throughout the United States. For analysis, the crushing plant locations were separated into the following 3 zones: 1) Michigan, Minnesota, and South Dakota ( = 4); 2) Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio ( = 11); and 3) Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska ( = 7). Dietary treatments included 22 diets based on a mixture of cornstarch, sucrose, and each source of SBM as the sole source of CP. Results indicated that the concentration of most indispensable and dispensable AA in SBM were not different among zones. However, SBM from zone 2 had a greater ( < 0.05) concentration of Thr than SBM from zone 3 and a greater ( < 0.05) concentration of Gly than SBM from zone 1. The concentration of Tyr in SBM from zone 2 was also greater ( < 0.05) than in SBM from zones 1 and 3. However, if concentrations of AA were calculated as a percent of CP, there were no differences in the concentrations of indispensable and dispensable AA among SBM from the 3 zones. Likewise, the AID of CP and the AID of indispensable and dispensable AA were not different among SBM from the 3 zones. The SID of CP and most AA was also not different among SBM from the 3 zones. However, SBM from zone 3 had a greater ( < 0.05) SID of His, Asp, and Cys than SBM from zone 2, and SBM from zone 1 had a greater ( < 0.05) SID of Lys than SBM from zone 2. There was also a tendency ( < 0.10) for SBM from zone 3 to have a greater SID of Ile, Leu, Phe, Val, Ala, and Tyr than SBM from zone 2. If the concentrations of SID CP and AA were calculated as grams per kilogram, SBM among the 3 zones were not different with the exception that there was a tendency ( = 0.07) for SBM from zone 2 to contain more SID Thr and SID Tyr than SBM from zone 3. In conclusion, only a few differences in concentrations and digestibility of CP and AA exist among sources of SBM from different zones in the United States. These observations indicate that the protein value is not different among SBM produced in the United States regardless of the location of the crushing plants.

Effects of production area and microbial phytase on the apparent and standardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus in soybean meal fed to growing pigs.

An experiment was conducted to determine if the area in which soybeans are grown influences the concentration of P, phytate, and macro- and microminerals in the soybean meal (SBM) produced from the beans and, therefore, also influences the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and the standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P in SBM. The second objective was to test the hypothesis that inclusion of microbial phytase will increase the ATTD and STTD of P in SBM regardless of where the beans were grown. Twenty sources of SBM were procured from crushing facilities located in different regions of the United States that were separated into 3 zones: 1) the northern growing area (Michigan, Minnesota, and South Dakota), 2) the eastern growing area (Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio), and 3) the western growing area (Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska). For each source of SBM, 2 diets based on cornstarch and SBM were formulated; one of these diets contained no microbial phytase and the other diet contained 500 units/kg of microbial phytase. Two hundred growing barrows (16.90 ± 1.79 kg initial BW) were individually placed in metabolism crates and allotted to a randomized complete block design with 40 diets and 5 replicate pigs per treatment. Feces were collected for 4 d after a 4-d adaptation period using the marker-to-marker procedure. Results indicated that there were no differences in concentration of Ca, P, phytate, and macro- and microminerals among SBM from the different zones. However, there was a tendency ( = 0.055) for an increase in concentration of nonphytate P in SBM from the western growing area (0.25%) compared with SBM from the northern growing area (0.23%) and the eastern growing area (0.23%). There were no differences in feed intake, absorbed P, ATTD of P, STTD of P, Ca intake, Ca output, or ATTD of Ca for pigs fed SBM from the 3 zones. However, there was a tendency (P = 0.066) for an increase in P intake and P output from pigs fed SBM from the western growing area compared with pigs fed SBM from the northern growing area. There was an increase ( < 0.05) in absorbed P, ATTD and STTD of P, and ATTD of Ca if microbial phytase was included in the diets, but the quantity of P and Ca that was excreted in the feces decreased ( < 0.001) if microbial phytase was used. Overall, no differences in ATTD and STTD of P exist among SBM produced in different areas of the United States, but microbial phytase will increase the digestibility of P in SBM.

Concentrations of digestible, metabolizable, and net energy in soybean meal produced in different areas of the United States and fed to pigs.

An experiment was conducted to determine concentrations of DE, ME, and NE in soybean meal (SBM) produced in different areas of the United States if fed to growing pigs. Twenty-two sources of SBM were procured from crushing facilities located throughout the soybean growing area of the United States. For analysis, crushing plant locations were separated into 4 zones: 1) MI, MN, and SD ( = 4); 2) GA, IN, and OH ( = 6); 3) IA, MO, and NE ( = 7), and 4) IL ( = 5). Dietary treatments included a corn-based diet and 22 diets based on a mixture of corn and each source of SBM. Twenty-three growing barrows (initial BW: 26.4 ± 1.8 kg) were allotted to a 23 × 8 Youden square design with 23 diets and 8 periods. Pigs were placed in individual metabolism crates that were equipped with a feeder, a cup waterer, slatted floors, and a urine tray. Feces and urine were collected for 5 d after a 7-d adaptation period. The GE was 4,165, 4,209, 4,162, and 4,198 kcal/kg (as-fed) for SBM from Zones 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, and the GE in SBM from Zone 2 tended ( = 0.08) to be greater than the GE in SBM from Zones 1 and 3. The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of GE for SBM was not different among zones. The DE and ME were 4,343 and 4,098; 4,319 and 4,117; 4,135 and 3,926; and 4,248 and 4,039 kcal/kg DM for SBM from Zones 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The DE and ME of SBM from Zones 1 and 2 were greater ( < 0.05) than the DE and ME of SBM from Zone 3, but the DE and ME of SBM from Zone 4 were not different from that of the other zones. Net energy was calculated for each source of SBM using a published prediction equation based on DE, ether extract, starch, CP, and ADF. The NE of SBM from Zones 1 and 2 (2,534 and 2,497 kcal/kg DM) was greater ( < 0.05) than the NE of SBM from Zone 3 (2391 kcal/kg DM), but the NE of SBM from Zone 4 (2448 kcal/kg DM) was not different from the NE of SBM from the other zones. Regardless of growing area, values for DE, ME, and NE of SBM determined in this experiment are greater than values published by and indicate that DE, ME, and NE values for SBM may be underestimated by . In conclusion, regardless of growing area, GE, DE, ME, and NE were not different for SBM from the northern or eastern growing area or from Illinois, but DE, ME, and NE were less in SBM from the western growing area.