Soybean Oil

Uses: Feed Supplement | Dust Suppressant

Soybeans (Glycine soja) were first gown in China (mentioned at the time of the Emperor Chennung, 2800 BC). They were brought to Europe by missionaries (1740) and first grew in the Paris botanical garden. They were first brought to the United States as inexpensive ballast in 1804.

Today, the world’s top producers of soy are the United States, Brazil, Argentina, China and India. Vegetable oils are a dense digestible energy source that require less fermentation in the rumen for the energy to be released. They are commonly used in dairy rations to increase energy. They eliminate the negative side effects and digestive disorders associated with feeding more fermentable carbohydrates that are found in a high grain ration. With vegetable oils, producers can increase the energy density in the diet without increasing the risk of acidosis.

Soybean oil is 61% polyunsaturated fat and 24% mono-unsaturated fat. It is also rich in unsaturated fatty acids, sterols, Vitamins A, E and K.Soybean oil is also a cheap and effective dust suppressant for animal feed.

Benefits as a Feed Supplement

Dairy:

• Increases caloric density of ration.
• Improves milk production.
• Improves growth of heifers.
• Improves the palatability of the ration.
• Increases the absorption of ration nutrients.
• Improves tolerance to cold and heat.

Cow/Calf Beef:

• Increases the tolerance of newborn calves to cold.
• Improves growth of heifers.
• Improves rebreeding time of calving females.
• Increases weaning weights of calves.
• Improves body condition.

Feedlot Cattle:

• Increases rate of gain.
• Improves feed efficiency and palatability of the ration.
• Improves carcass quality.
• Provides an all-natural fat source.

Hogs:

• Improves reproduction and condition of sows.
• Increases survival of piglets.
• Increases the number of pigs weaned per litter.
• Improves rate of gain and feed efficiency.
• Increases sow conception rate in reduced time.

Poultry:

• Increases egg mass.
• Improves egg production.
• Improves utilization of feed nutrients.
• Increases rate of gain.
• Improves feed efficiency.
• Improves carcass characteristics.

Benefits as a Dust Suppressant

• Decreases the dustiness of the ration.
• Makes feed cleaner and easier to handle.
• Reduces loss of the ration to the wind.
• Improves palatability.

Directions for Use

• Add 1-3% soybean oil/volume of feed after grinding. This is more effective than adding before grinding.

Precautions

• Beef cattle diets should contain no more than 5% added fat from soybeans. Since microbes in the rumen cannot digest fats or oils, provide enough readily available carbohydrates, such as grain to maintain rumen productivity.
• If too much soybean oil is fed and upsets the rumen’s function, the animal’s dry matter intake will drop. The animal’s energy intake may drop despite the high energy in the diet. Disrupted rumen function also impairs fibre digestion, meaning that the animal will get less feed value from the forages in the diet.
• To allow the animal to make good use of the soybean oil, which will be digested after it passes the rumen, increase dietary levels of UIP (by-pass protein). A common guideline is to add 1% of dietary UIP for each 3 percentage units of added dietary fat.

Packaging

• Packaged in a bulk liquid form.
• Sold by weight, by the kilogram, in a 5-gallon (22.5 L) pail or in a “bring your own” container.

Safety

• There are no known health risks in handling soybean oil for animal use.
• Store away from heat in a cool, dry place, away from sources of ignition.