The nutritive value of soybean meal from different sources for sows during mid- and late gestation.

Soybean meal (SBM) is the most commonly used protein source in swine diets, with high available energy. Sows have crucial roles in the pig industry, therefore precise knowledge of actual SBM nutritive values at different gestation stages is vital for efficient livestock production and management. In our study, we evaluated the nutritive value of SBMs from different sources in mid- and late-gestating sows, and generated prediction equations for digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) values. We identified no differences in DE and ME values in SBMs from different sources when fed to sows during mid- and late gestation. However, regardless of the pregnancy stage, DE and ME SBM values for sows, identified in this study, were greater than values published by NRC (2012). Also, ME, ME:DE ratio, and nitrogen (N) net utilization SBM values for late-gestating sows were greater than in mid-gestating sows. The chemical composition of SBMs can be used to predict DE and ME values. Our study data can be used to accurately formulate diets for pregnant sows.