What is the ratio of soybean meal to corn in livestock feed?

Answer 1

Based on US average yields and protein content, it doesn't. In 2009, US farmers averaged 44 bushels per acre yield for soybeans and 165 bushels per acre for corn. Multiplying those yields times the appropriate test weights for each crop, and then factoring in average protein contents of 8% for corn and 35% for soybeans gives a total of 735 pounds of protein per acre from corn, but 924 pounds per acre from soybeans.

This assumes, of course, that the corn was harvested as a grain crop and not as silage or fodder. In that case, the sheer volume of harvested crop would account for the difference.

Answer 2

Soybean is a protein-rich supplemental feedstuff, not corn. If you want to add more protein to an animal's diet (without having to use animal by-products, particuarly if you have ruminant animals to feed, not hogs or poultry) include a form of soybean or soybean by-product.

Answer 3

This question is impossible to answer because it depends on many, many factors, several which include the following:

• Type, breed, class, size, weight and age of livestock you're feeding (Pigs? Cattle [dairy or beef]? Feeder Lambs? Chickens [layer or broiler]? Turkeys?)
• Availability of such feeds
• Cost of each feedstuff
• Is corn processed or fed whole?
• Inclusion of forage into a ration (as in, how much forage is included), especially for ruminant animals (i.e., cattle, sheep and goats)
• What are the limiting nutrients of the current ration that consider you to believe you need to include soybean meal and corn in a ration or that you should be feeding corn and soybean meal as the dominant feedstuff in a ration?

Soybean meal is a by-product feedstuff that should be fed in smaller amounts than corn in any ration fed to any species of farm animal. Corn should also be monitored as it is a high-energy feedstuff and is more crucial to monitor than the protein content from soybean meal, especially in ruminant animals. You need to analyze what your animals require before you can conclude any sort of ratio or amount of corn and soybean meal you need for any class or species of livestock. No ratio is going to be the same for every and all classes and species of animals, and no amount will remain the same for every swine, poultry, dairy, beef, ovine or caprine nutritionist that exist and work in the livestock industry. It is much safer to contact a local nutritionist specific for the animals you raise to formulate a diet that includes corn and soybean meal instead of relying on an overly ambiguous and generic answer from a question and answer site.