Zachary Smith, an associate professor in the animal science department at South Dakota State University, and his team are looking to improve beef quality and productivity while adding value to crops, like soybeans, for producers. He has found that cattle can benefit from a diet that includes extruded soybeans. The research was funded with Soy Checkoff support by the South Dakota Soybean Council.

Smith and his team conducted a feedlot trial comparing three different beef cattle diets: extruded soybeans, modified distillers grains, and modified distillers grains with added corn oil. In comparing growth performance, the cattle fed extruded soybeans had greater average daily gain, better feed conversion efficiency, and weighed more than the other two groups.

Smith points out other benefits of adding soybeans into beef cattle diets. Many who raise cattle in the region have integrated cropping and livestock systems, he says. The soybeans they grow could remain on the farm to be used in their livestock feed, saving transportation costs as well as reducing the cost to purchase feed. 

Read more about this research here.