Soybeans are primarily processed for their oil, which leads
to the generation of two primary by-products - soybean meal and soybean
hulls. Soybean hulls are actually the skin of the soybean which comes
off during processing. These soyhulls are quite small in size and
are not very dense. Therefore, many soyhulls are pelleted to increase
ease of handling and bulk density. With respect to nutritional value,
the loose and pelleted hulls are equal.
Most of the time soyhulls are priced competitively
to corn. In order to determine which is a better buy we must first
determine how they compare on a nutritional basis. The two nutrients
that we are most interested in are energy and protein. Corn contains
90% TDN (total digestible nutrients, an index of energy content) and 8
to 10% protein. Soyhulls are not as straightforward, in fact, three
different publications give them three different energy values. The
1984 NRC publication for beef cattle lists them at 64% TDN, the 1996 NRC
for beef cattle lists them at 80% TDN and the latest NRC for dairy cattle
assigns them a value of 77% TDN. All agree that they contain approximately
12% crude protein. Why this discrepancy in TDN content? Primarily
because of the way in which they are used. If we were to feed a group
of cattle a diet that contained 90% corn and another group a diet that
contained 90% soyhulls then the results would show that corn would provide
10 to 20% faster gains than the soyhulls. However, when we feed diets
that contain only a small portion of the diet as corn or soyhulls then
the soyhulls provide gains equal to those provided by the corn. For
example, we have a group of cows that have just begun calving. They
have been consuming about 25 pounds of hay per day, but now that they are
calving we need to supplement the hay. Let's compare corn and soyhulls.
We supplement with 5 pounds of corn per day and the end result is that
the cows are now consuming the 5 pounds of corn but their hay consumption
drops to about 18 or 19 pounds per day. Their total energy intake
is still greater than it was when they were consuming 25 pounds of hay
but the corn has a negative impact on total intake (now at about 23 or
24 pounds) and will also decrease the digestibility of the hay. The
comparison is that we supplement with 5 pounds of soyhulls per day.
Now the final result will be that they will consume the 5 pounds of soyhulls
and about 21 to 22 pounds of hay per day and the digestibility of the hay
may be improved. Even though the soyhulls contain less TDN per pound
than does corn, they are equal to the corn as a supplement for cattle consuming
forages because of their positive impact on forage intake and digestibility.
In addition to the positive effects with regard to the TDN fraction, they
also contain more protein than the corn. These same effects can be
observed when soyhulls replace corn in a broiler litter-based diet.
Auburn Research: We have conducted several
studies on the use of soyhulls in beef cattle diets. In summary,
these studies revealed that in broiler litter-based diets all of the corn
could be replaced with soyhulls and still maintain the same level of performance.
For example, when fed to stocker calves or replacement heifers, a 50:50
mix of soyhulls and litter was equivalent to a 50:50 mix of corn and litter.
Likewise, brood cows could be fed a 70:30 mix of litter and corn or a 70:30
mix of litter and soyhulls post-calving with equal results on rebreeding
interval and conception rates.
In addition, we have used soyhulls as an excellent
creep feed. Also, many backgrounded calves have been weaned onto
free-choice soyhulls and gained in excess of 2 pounds per day for a 45-day
backgrounding period. Soyhulls are extremely palatable and thus make
an excellent choice in weaning diets.
CAUTION POINTS: At high levels of intake (greater
than 7 pounds per day) soyhulls are conducive to bloat and a bloat preventative
should be used. A satisfactory method would be to feed a mineral
supplement containing an ionophore such as Rumensin or Bovatec or mixing
the ionophore straight into the feed. Mixing into the feed would
be the only option if litter is used because cattle consuming diets containg
broiler litter consume very little of the mineral supplement. Also,
always provide some access to long-stem roughage, whether it be hay or
grazing. Quality of the roughage is not as important as particle
size.
Purchasing the soyhulls in late summer and early
fall are the best strategy for purchasing at a bargain price. Always
shop around and compare it to the price of corn.