A review of soybean processing byproducts and their use in swine and poultry diets

Due to its importance in animal feed, soybean meal has been extensively studied to optimize its use in livestock diets. Despite extensive research, the industry has not fully characterized specific areas of soybean processing such as the inclusion of soybean byproducts added back to soybean meal during processing. Soybean processing byproducts can encompass a large variety of materials including weeds and foreign material, soybean hulls, gums, soapstocks, lecithins, spent bleaching clays, and deodorizer distillates. Despite the potential for being added back to soybean meal when a crushing plant is integrated with an oil refinery, there is currently limited information on the composition of many of these soybean processing byproducts and their subsequent effects on soybean meal quality and animal performance. Therefore, there may be opportunities for a new area of research focused on soybean processing byproducts and their optimal use within the livestock feed industry. This review summarizes the current information on soybean byproducts with a focus on identifying the areas with the greatest potential for future research in swine and poultry nutrition.