By Lesley WJ Nernberg, Lighthouse Agri-Solutions and Matthew Clark, FeedGuys Resources 

Northern Soy Marketing (NSM) continues to lead the way in utilizing innovative methods to showcase the value of soybean meal produced in the northern United States. As we end 2024 and move into 2025, we’re excited to share how some of these cutting-edge tools are transforming our understanding of the nutritional benefits of northern U.S. soybean meal in poultry diets.

Unveiling the nutritional powerhouse: NSM soybean meal
The 2023/24 U.S. Soybean Quality Report and its analysis have shed light on the advantages of the nutritional profile of soybeans grown in the northern states. While it’s been observed that other regions may have higher crude protein, northern U.S. soybeans do have nutritional characteristics that can be captured by soybean meal end users. Among these advantages are the elevated metabolizable energy content, higher concentration of digestible amino acids, and an enhanced Effective Energy value offering superior livestock performance. A recent review of key soybean meal analytes that may impact feed formulation is provided below.

Table 1. Nutrient Analysis of Soybean Meal from Different Origin

Nutrient or Specification	NSM States	USA National	Brazil
Crude Protein (%)	46.0	46.3	46.9
AMEn Broiler (kcal/kg) CVB 2018	2192	2198	2167
Effective Energy* (kcal/kg) EFG Model	1732	1737	1675
Sucrose (%)	13.0	13.2	11.7
SID Poultry Lysine (%)	2.67	2.68	2.46
SID Poultry Meth + Cyst (%)	1.06	1.07	1.00
SID Poultry Threonine (%)	1.44	1.45	1.46
SID Poultry Tryptophan (%)	0.53	0.53	0.53
CAAV Digestible (%)	12.39	12.37	11.62

 

Digital nutrition: A journey to identify excellence
Lighthouse Agri-Solutions and FeedGuys Resources are actively collaborating with NSM to quantify and leverage such data sets as above for the benefit of NSM soybean growers and soybean meal clients. Our collaborative approach to the project involves harnessing three key technological tools:

• Soybean to Soybean Meal Calculator
• Feed Formulation Linear Programming
• Broiler Growth Modelling (EFG Software)

Our integrated approach demonstrates the overall value of NSM soy products through a comprehensive, holistic view of the protein value chain. In collaboration with our partners at the University of Minnesota, we’re incorporating their detailed nutrient profile data into the feed industry supply chain. This valuable information is now being integrated into a Broiler Growth Model, allowing us to predict how different feed ingredients, including our northern U.S. soybean meal, will affect broiler performance. This advanced modeling capability enables us to showcase the superior nutritional benefits of NSM soy products from field to feed to farm, providing a complete picture of their impact on poultry production efficiency and profitability.

The power of prediction: Understanding broiler growth modelling
This year we have incorporated a sophisticated Broiler Growth Model into our toolkit. The model is developed by Dr. Rob Gous, a world-renowned animal growth modelling expert and creator of the EFG Software program.

But what exactly is broiler growth modelling, and how does it benefit the overall poultry production and protein value chain?

Broiler growth modelling is a cutting-edge approach that simulates the complex factors affecting a chicken’s growth from hatchery to market weight and ultimately bird processing. These models take into account a wide range of variables including genetics, environment, feed ingredients, nutrition, and farm management.

For broiler producers, these models offer several key benefits delivering:

• Optimized Feeding Programs
• Improved Nutrient and Resource Allocation
• Risk Management

What does this mean for NSM? Through the better understanding of our NSM soybean meal nutrient characteristics we can now demonstrate achievable improvements in broiler performance and profitability.

Broiler growth modelling serves as a bridge between the science of nutrition and the practical realities of poultry production, providing a unique and illustrative tool to identify the advantages of northern U.S. soybean meal.
At Northern Soy Marketing, we’re committed to unlocking the full potential of northern U.S. soybean meal. We invite you to further understand how our tools and insights can benefit your operation – whether you’re a soybean grower, soy processor, animal feed manufacturer, or broiler producer – there’s untapped value in northern U.S. soybean meal waiting to be discovered.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to promote the value of soybean meal in animal nutrition. Together we’re not just feeding animals, we are nourishing the future of sustainable and efficient feed and food production. Let’s unlock the potential of precision nutrition together!