By Stephen Harper, ECV Nutritionist
Over the years, Soyabean Meal has become regarded as a highly valuable raw material for livestock feeds because of its high protein and energy content as well as its amino acid composition. Soya has a high level of digestible undegradable protein (DUP) compared to other protein sources. This makes particularly useful in dairy cow diets where some by-pass protein is required to fulfil the demands of higher yielding cows, which cannot be met solely by protein from rumen microbes.
Most of the world’s soya comes from two countries, the USA and Brazil. Global soya production has increased rapidly over the last 50 years from 30 to 350 million tonnes per year. Of global soya, 77% is used as feed for livestock. The vast majority is used in poultry (37%) and pig (20%) diets. Only 1.4% is used in dairy feed and 0.5% in beef feed.
The rate of expansion of soya production in South America has been much faster than the USA. Its association with deforestation and the destruction of natural habitat has led to pressure to ensure soya is sourced sustainably or alternatives are used. The UK Soy Manifesto is a collective industry commitment to eliminating deforestation and the conversion of other natural ecosystems from soya supply chains. Signatories which include many well-known retailers and processors have committed to implementing a plan as soon as possible but no later than 2025.
Some dairy farmers have already reduced or eliminated soya from their rations by using alternatives that do not compromise cow health and performance such as protected rapemeal eg. NovaPro to provide quality by-pass protein.
Although sustainable soya certification can be procured by buying credits, it may be more cost effective to eliminate soya from some rations. Beef and youngstock diets which have traditionally contained little or no soya bean meal can be formulated using distillers wheat and maize dark grains, rapemeal, beans and peas. At East Coast Viners, we now have designated non-soya rations across a range of feeds including calf starter pellets, dairy cakes, beef protein concentrate, lamb finisher and ewe feeds.
In the UK, sustainable soya initiatives seek to accelerate the transition to deforestation and conversion free soya. In non-ruminant livestock rations where there may be no commercially available alternatives, pressure will increase to ensure soya is sourced sustainably, while in ruminant diets alternatives can be considered.