Nutrient composition and energy concentration in soybean meal from 5 different countries fed to pigs

An experiment was conducted to compare nutritional composition and concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in soybean meal (SBM) from the 5 largest soybean producing countries when fed to pigs. Five sources of SBM from China, Argentina, and the U.S., and 4 sources from Brazil and India were collected. A basal diet based on corn and 23 diets based on corn and each source of SBM were formulated. Twenty-four growing barrows were individually housed in metabolism crates and allotted to a 24 x 7 Youden square design with 24 diets and 7 periods. Apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE) and concentrations of DE and ME in each diet and source of SBM were calculated. Results indicated that the ATTD of GE was greater (P<0.05) in SBM from Argentina and China than in Brazilian and Indian SBM. The DE and ME values (88% dry matter) of Indian SBM were the lowest (P<0.05) among countries, but there were no differences in the ME of SBM among the other 4 countries. Few differences in the DE and ME of SBM among countries were observed, indicating that the conditions that may affect growing conditions of soybeans have limited effect on the energy value of SBM fed to pigs.