Precision nutrition depends on using accurate nutritional information in feed formulation. Soybean meals (SBM), the primary amino acid (AA) source vary by country of origin influencing diet precision. Results from NIRS may be beneficial in describing the nutrient value of SBM sources. This study evaluated the differential feed cost, and relative value of SBM from three origins: Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BRA), and the United States (USA). The global database from NIRS Precision Nutrition Evaluation (PNE) from Adisseo® was used to assess differences in proximate composition, AMEn, AA content and digestibility. The PNE use direct calibration with in vivo of experiments to estimate AMEn and AA digestibility. Information from two harvest (2020 and 2021) were used for least-cost feed formulation (Concept 5.0®). Starter, grower, and finisher broiler diets were formulated following Aviagen (2022) nutrient recommendations. Diets for two production phases of Brown and White W-36 layers were formulated following Hy-Line recommendations (2022). Average market prices (2023) were applied to all ingredients except for corn and SBM. High, medium and low prices of SBM (590.0, 471.5, 353.0 $/MT) and corn (323.0, 236.22, 198.82 $/MT) were used in a factorial combination to obtain 378 diets. The relative SBM economic value ($/MT) was estimated using the following formula: Relative value of SBM ($/MT) = Base SBM (USA) price ($/MT) – [TDCtest – TDCBase)/ SBMtest x 1000]; where “TDC” is the total diet cost ($/MT), assuming the inclusion of the specified SBM, and “SBM” is the amount of SBM included in the diet (kg/MT). Results indicated significant differences (P<0.001) among SBM country of origin for nutrient, energy, and AA digestibility. Despite ingredient price and nutrient per year variability (P<0.01), diets formulated with USA SBM were cheaper (P<0.01) for broilers (2.76–9.84 $/MT) and layers (0.41- 13.45 $/ton). Exceptions were noted for ARG SBM in Brown phase 2 and White layers with high or medium SBM with high corn prices. The USA SBM had a premium value that ranged from 7.94-29.22 $/MT for broilers, and 2.08-46.50 $/MT for layers.
In summary, these analyses demonstrated economic benefits of considering accurate SBM nutrient and energy value description in feed formulation.