The day-to-day operating costs involved in crushing oilseeds can make or break the profitability of a mechanical processing plant. To combat tight margins and fluctuating market prices, processors must operate their facilities as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible—which requires a keen understanding of their operating expenses in terms of cost per ton for soybean oil…
Lowering Trypsin Inhibitor Levels in Soybean Meal
Soybean meal is the primary protein source in most animal feed formulations today. In fact, it makes up about a third of most U.S. poultry rations—supplying a unique combination of amino acids and other nutrients that broiler chickens depend on. Unfortunately, soy meal also contains several harmful anti-nutritional factors, like trypsin inhibitors, that compromise its…
Measuring Soybean Meal Protein Quality
Soybean meal is the primary source of protein for the animal feed industry, comprising nearly two-thirds of the global feed market. However, differences in soybean varieties, growing conditions, and processing methods can all impact the quality and composition of proteins in the meal. Monitoring soybean meal protein quality is key to optimizing feed rations. Unfortunately,…
Transforming a Crude Oil Refinery Into a Soybean Crush Plant
As soybean production increased in Kentucky over the last few decades, some producers were transporting their harvest hundreds of miles to reach feed mills and soybean crush plants to process their crops. But now, soy producers in central Kentucky have a mill much closer to their farms, thanks to Continental Refining Company’s recent AgriTech transformation…
Processing Soybean for Poultry Feed: Study Reveals How Anderson’s Expeller-Pressed Meal Stacks Up
As the demand for organic food increases, farmers are reevaluating how they produce (and feed) livestock to meet these demands. Although solvent extraction is commonly used for high-volume oil production, the meal left over from this process can’t be used as organic animal feed because of the hazardous chemicals involved. Soybean meal generated from chemical-free…
Why Soybean Meal Dominates the Animal Feed Market
Over the last several decades, soybean meal has become the world’s dominant protein source in animal feed rations. More than three-fourths of the global soy supply ends up in feed formulations every year, more than any other oilseed or cereal grain. But what makes this an essential part of many animals’ daily diets? As a…
Calculating the Growth Potential of Organic Soybean Meal
Although large-scale soybean processors dominate the commodity vegetable oil markets, these solvent extraction plants can’t produce organic products because of the hazardous chemicals they use. So, while small-scale mechanical oil mills may not be able to compete in terms of overall production volume or oil recovery rates, they can differentiate themselves by specializing in organic…
The Trick to Deactivating Soybean Trypsin Inhibitor
As the primary source of protein in most animal feed formulations, soybean is highly valued for its unique amino acid profile as a low-cost nutrient supply. Unfortunately, as nutritional as soybean can be, it also contains some anti-nutritional factors that can harm animals and humans. The most problematic enzyme, soybean trypsin inhibitor, must be properly…
Exploring the Potential for Soybean Biodiesel
Driven by the search for more renewable energy sources, U.S. biofuel production continues to expand. As the demand for biofuel increases, so does the demand for soybean oil—which generates more than 60% of the vegetable oil-derived biodiesel currently produced in the U.S. Biofuel production has rippling effects throughout the agricultural supply chain, so it’s important…