Comparing Full fat soya with soya oil cake meal
Both products originate from soybeans, but they differ significantly in their nutritional value and usage.
When soybeans undergo heat treatment and all oil is removed for human consumption, the by-product left is known as Soy Oilcake Meal (OCM). This product is widely used as a primary protein ingredient in animal feed, particularly for swine and poultry. While maize primarily provides energy in animal diets, Soy OCM serves mainly as a protein source.
In a different process, soybeans are extruded, and not all the fat/oil is removed, resulting in a product called Full Fat Soy. As the name implies, Full Fat Soy retains a high fat content, making it a valuable alternative energy source compared to maize (starch). In diets where energy is limiting, Full Fat Soy is included to boost the diet’s energy content. It also has a good protein percentage and thus serves as a protein source as well.
Both Soy OCM and Full Fat Soy undergo heat treatment to deactivate the anti-nutritional factor trypsin. Trypsin binds to protein, preventing animals (swine/poultry) from using the protein for growth. Therefore, the higher the quality of Soy OCM and Full Fat Soy, the better the animals will perform. However, quality variation in these products can limit efficient animal production.
If a diet is formulated to include Soy OCM, it cannot be simply replaced with Full Fat Soy due to their different nutritional profiles. Soy OCM is primarily a protein source, whereas Full Fat Soy is added to certain diets to enhance or increase nutritional density, particularly energy content.
These two products also differ in appearance. Full Fat Soy tends to be more “fatty/oily” to the touch, while Soy OCM has a more “flaky” texture.
Producers wanting to use Full Fat Soy in their diets should consult an animal nutritionist to reformulate the diet, balancing the ingredients for efficient production. Soy OCM cannot be replaced by Full Fat Soy on a per kilogram basis; the diet must be reformulated and re-balanced accordingly.
How to prepare soya for animal feed
We all know that nobody has an oil extraction machine or a refinery sitting in the backyard but what you do have is the potential to buy a large capacity pot such as a 50 L pot or a 25 L pot – fill that with boiling water, drop 25 kg of fresh soya beans or dried soya beans and boil them until they are cooked. A smart farmer can save up to R400 per ton when cooking dry soya beans versus purchasing oilcake. Give it a try today
You can also roast the beans which seems to alter the protein only slightly.