Lachance Nutrition ｜ 7 Ingredients for Substitute Soymeal to Lower Costs Significantly!

Under the situation of soaring raw material prices, choosing raw materials that can reduce costs to replace soybean meal has become an inevitable action for many feed companies. Here are 7 feed ingredients that can replace soybean meal and significantly reduce costs for your reference:

1. The most common alternative energy feed

① Alternative high-energy raw materials for corn: grain wheat, barley, sorghum, broken rice; grain by-product polishing powder, rice bran (oil bran), sugar residue, etc.;

②Oil substitute raw materials: fat residue, molasses, phospholipids, etc. all have high energy, and the use value of alternative oil is high.

2. The most common soybean meal alternative protein feed

①palm meal

In Asia, Australia, South America and Africa, the rapid development of the palm oil industry has resulted in a large amount of palm meal being used for livestock and poultry production. Palm meal does not have a high crude protein content (crude protein concentration less than 18%), but it is still a popular feedstock because it can significantly reduce the production costs of livestock farming. Palm meal is low in methionine and lysine and has average digestibility, but it contains high levels of energy and therefore can be an ideal part of the total protein composition of the diet. Palm meal is also relatively high in crude fiber (up to 20%). Palm meal is comparable to corn bran in many ways. Presumably, many of the adverse effects observed in broiler production are due to the gritty and physical qualities of palm meal and not to its nutritional composition. Therefore, after fully considering the limited nutrient composition, palm meal can be used relatively freely in broiler diets.

②Cottonseed meal

Cottonseed meal is a by-product formed after the oil is extracted from cottonseed. Cottonseed meal contains about 40% crude protein, has moderate digestibility, and its main antinutritional factor is gossypol. Broilers can tolerate higher levels of gossypol than layers, but the higher level of crude fiber (15%) in cottonseed meals limits its use in feed. Considering the existence of gossypol, it is feasible to add some iron salts to neutralize gossypol and reduce the side effects of cottonseed meals. Cottonseed cultivars with low or no gossypol content can also be used to produce cottonseed meals and are well tolerated by broilers. Poultry nutritionists recommend that farms gradually use it in broiler ration formulations.

③Peanut meal

Peanut meal is considered an appetizing feed material for monogastric animals, mainly because a certain amount of peanut oil (about 1%) remains in it. Peanut meal contains 50% crude protein, and the digestibility of protein is high, and it also contains some anti-nutritional factors (mainly inhibiting trypsin activity), which is similar to soybean meal, but most of the anti-nutritional factors are in the extraction process of peanut oil has been neutralized. The main limiting factors of peanut meal used as feed raw materials are its fiber content and mycotoxins. The former is caused by the extraction of peanut oil, and the latter is mainly aflatoxin. Ammonification and aflatoxin adsorbents in the feed are ideal solutions. Otherwise, peanut meal can be used relatively freely in broiler diets, and even in starter feed for chicks.

④ Sesame meal

The crude protein content of sesame meal is more than 45%, and the amino acid composition is similar to that of soybean meal with the same protein content. In addition to containing high levels of phytic acid, sesame meal also contains anti-nutritional factors. It is very low in available lysine and high in methionine. Sesame meal can be used in up to 30% of the diet of high-producing layer hens. Adding a certain amount of sesame husks back to the sesame meal will affect the quality. In general, the maximum amount of sesame meal added to poultry diets still needs further research, and it should be used in moderation, especially calcium and phosphorus in the diet should be considered.

⑤Sunflower meal

Sunflower seed cake (meal) is the residue after oil extraction from sunflower seeds. Its crude protein content is between 30%～43%. The composition of amino acids is better, among which the content of methionine is higher, and the content of lysine is lower than that of soybean meal, so it is more suitable to be used together with soybean meal. The tannin, sinapinic acid and phenolic compounds in sunflower seed cake (meal) are also low, so it has good palatability and is a good protein feed for fish and shrimp. Its nutritional value mainly depends on the degree of shelling. Completely shelled sunflower meal has high nutritional value, but it is relatively rare in the market (the largest amount of feed is used in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other regions).

⑥Guar soybean meal

Guar is a legume that is widely grown in India, Pakistan, parts of the United States, and other countries. The main use of guar is in the production of mannogalactan gum, a binding agent in the paper and pigment industries. The residual meal after extracting mannogalactan gum from guar beans contains 50% crude protein, and the main anti-nutritional factor is the residual mannogalactan gum, which can be decomposed by adding an appropriate amount of enzymes. Results of field trials of guar meal in animal feed varied widely, most likely due to the wide variation in its quality. Poultry nutritionists advise caution in using guar meal in broiler diets until the quality of guar meal has been fully characterized.

⑦ Lupine

Mainly grown in Australia, lupines are also available from certain parts of Asia and are also grown in the UK and Canada. Affected by the cultivated varieties, the crude protein content of lupine is 32% to 42%, and its nutritional value is equivalent to soybean. The main limiting factor in animal nutrition of lupine is the level of alkaloids it contains, but modern sweet lupine varieties have significantly reduced alkaloid content. In addition, the use of lupine in broiler feed is reduced due to its low energy concentration due to its high crude fiber content (25%), a large part of which is pectin which can increase the viscosity of digested in the intestine. The high fiber content in lupines can be solved by hulling, finely grinding and adding enzymes in moderation. Unlike soybean meal, lupine does not require heat treatment before use.

Significantly lower cost Feed ingredients that can replace soybean meal are far more than the above 7 kinds, there are a large number of agricultural by-products and small crops all over the world. Each ingredient has its potential and limitations. For an unknown feed material, take a conservative approach, and a professional nutritionist will use appropriate laboratory analysis, improve the database, and apply it rationally, thereby reducing feed costs and saving animal production costs.

Generally speaking, it is not recommended to add all these (except peanut meal, and cotton meal) alternative protein raw materials to poultry starter feed. Not only do chicks benefit from a high-quality protein source, but farms can actually achieve better cost savings during the latter stages of production when feed intake is at its maximum