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How much Soyex can I feed to my dairy cows? |
Typical Soyex feeding rates are 2-3kg (4.5-6.5lbs) per cow per day. Since there's energy remaining in Soyex,( 500g (1lb) of oil), it makes for an excellent feed in high producing dry cow rations.
If you are feeding free or liquid oil, amount fed should be limited to 225g (.5lb) per cow per day. Unsaturated fatty acids can depress fiber digestion and rumen fermentation.
Here are some recommended feeding rates of soybean feed ingredients for comparison:
| Soybean Ingredient |
Feeding Rate (kg/cow/day) |
Feeding Rate (lbs/cow/day) |
Feed Limitations |
| Roasted soybean, coarse/cracked |
2-3 |
5-6 |
high oil content
high RUP
external processing costs
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| Soyex (your soybean meal) |
2-3 |
4-6 |
medium oil content
medium RUP
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| Extruded soybeans |
2 |
4 |
medium oil content
medium to high RUP
high feed cost
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| Raw soybeans |
2 |
4 |
high oil content
low RUP
higher levels can lower protein digestibility
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Answer adapted from University of Illinois Extenstion. 'Feeding Soyean as an Economic Alternative.' Authors: Mike Hutjens, Extension Dairy Specialist, University of Illinois, Urbana. |
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Do soybeans have to be heat-treated? |
| Soybeans do not have to be heat treated.
Soyex, does see some heat during processing through the Energrow System, thereby maintaining naturally occurring vitamins and amino acids. It is not treated to very high temperatures as in roasting, micronizing, or large scale extrusion plants. It is also not treated with any chemicals like in solvent extraction. Soyex can be used on it's own or in combination with heat-treated soybeans or other proteins to balance the protein requirements in a dairy ration. How much external feed is needed depends on the quality of your on-farm feed (including Soyex) and your specific production or component goals.
If a dairy ration needs more degradable and soluble protein (high corn silage or low quality hay), Soyex fits very well because it has more degradable protein. If your ration requires more undegradable protein, then other proteins or heat treated soybean feeds can be used to complement your Soyex. |
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How long does the meal store / What is the storeability? |
Soyex will store for over a month if kept in a cool, dry place away from direct light. Since you are able to produce it fresh right on the farm, you may as well feed it fresh. It's like fresh cookies out of the oven...but for animals (though you might even catch yourself grabbing a snack once in a while).
Energrow Systems produce a very high quality feed that is:
- Consistent: systems are programmed to reliably monitor and control the extrusion process in order to produce consistent feed
- Palatable: meals produced are ready to feed very palatable due to their texture, consistent nature, and minimized temperature during processing. (Soyex for example, is an excellent ingredient for robotic milking feeders, as a top dress, or mixing straight into a TMR).
- Flowable: the compacted pellets are very easy to handle.· They dry quickly, don't stick together and auger well. Meal can be stored in totes or bins.
- Easy to process: Enegrow makes pressing easy! Seed can be pressed straight from your field and you don't have to pre-condition, pre-expel or dry your it down to industrial processing levels. Seed enters the press and meal is ready to feed as soon as it exits the press. The press runs reliably on it's own, so no babysitting is required. Unlike flake or cake meals that normally require a secondary cooling or drying process on exiting the press, the pelleted meal from Energrow Systems is ready to feed and will not trap moisture which would attribute the feed to self-heat (damaging feed quality), stick (making it difficult to handle and store), and go rancid (not good for anyone).
- Yours: most importantly, the feed being made is from your own seed. You know what you're feeding and where it came from. Energrow systems are built for the farm. They're designed to account for seed that isn't perfectly or industrially cleaned, dried down to industrial processing requirments, or even the highest quality (such as heated canola).
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What can the meal be used for? |
