News from the Midwest Sectional Meetings, March 16-18, 1998, Des Moines, Iowa
Contact:
Monty Kerley or Gene Felton, University of Missouri (573) 882-0834
Joe Marks, (573) 882-6546
Whole soybeans work fine in steer rations
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Steers will gain just fine on diets that are as much as one-fourth whole soybeans, according to scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The whole soybeans replace soybean meal, thus providing protein similar in quality to that provided by the soybean meal. The oil in the whole beans also supplies an excellent, high-quality energy source, the scientists said.
"Our data showed raw, whole soybeans can be included up to 24 percent of the diet, and this inclusion will have no adverse effect on steer performance," said Gene Felton, MU animal sciences graduate student.
"In fact, we also saw a trend towards a better quality grade with the increased amount of whole soybeans in the diet," Felton said in a report to the Midwest Section of the American Society of Animal Sciences.
For whole soybeans to be an economical replacement for soybean meal, the beans should be 94 percent or less of the cost of the soybean meal, said MU animal scientist Monty Kerley.
Felton and Kerley compared four groups of steers fed rations with different levels of whole soybeans. One group received no whole soybeans, another group received whole soybeans as 8 percent of their diet, and a third group was fed whole soybeans as 16 percent of their diet. All three groups were given soybean meal. The fourth group received whole soybeans as 24 percent of their diet and no soybean meal.
All rations were balanced for 15.25 percent crude protein. "We found no differences among the groups in average daily gain, total gain, final body weight, carcass weight, quality grade, back fat, rib eye area or yield grade," Felton said.
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