Soybean meal nutrient composition, amino acid digestibility, and energy content according to the country of origin and year of harvest evaluated via NIRS

Considerable variability has been reported for soybean meal (SBM) nutrient and energy content and protein and amino acid (AA) digestibility. Furthermore, analytical variability among labs can introduce bias in feedstuff valuation. Energy values are typically estimated with prediction equations that may require digestibility values and nutrient contents that are not always available for every SBM batch. Adequate valuation of SBM nutrient value remains an issue. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) can reduce analytical inconsistencies and aid with valuation. Direct NIRS calibration curves obtained with in vivo data can estimate ME and AA digestibility. We evaluated the effects of SBM origin and year of harvest on SBM nutrient, AME, AMEn, AA content, and digestibility using data estimated with the NIRS Precision Nutrition Evaluation (PNE) service (Adisseo). The database contained 77,478 SBM samples from Argentina, Brazil, and the United States (USA) scanned in nine countries between 2018 and 2021. Results confirmed that SBM varied by country of origin and year of harvest. Generally, Argentina had the lowest CP, EE, CF, Leu, Phe, His, and Arg, intermediate Lys, Ile, and energy values. Brazilian SBM had the highest CP, EE, CF, and Lys digestibility values but the lowest AME, AMEn, Lys, Met, Cys, and Trp per unit of CP. The USA SBM had the highest AME, AMEn, Lys, and Arg content per unit of CP, nutritional uniformity, and AA digestibility, similar to Argentina. The NIRS PNE service detected the variability caused by the origin and harvest year interaction on SBM nutrient and energy value.