A recent University of Illinois study examined whether reducing dietary crude protein through lower soybean meal inclusion – and replacing it with crystalline amino acids – can adequately support sow health, immunity and reproductive performance, or whether higher soybean meal inclusion remains the better choice.

Both dietary approaches supported comparable reproductive outcomes. Litter size, pigs born alive and pigs weaned were not significantly different between treatments. For producers focused solely on reproductive numbers, the low-protein approach appeared adequate.

However, the picture changed when researchers looked beyond piglet counts. Sows receiving the high-protein corn-soybean meal diet showed:

• Lower oxidative stress at and after farrowing.
• Greater antioxidant defense indicators (glutathione peroxidase, white blood cell count).
• Higher immunoglobulin G in both colostrum and milk.
• Greater protein and fat concentrations in milk.

When soybean meal is the right choice, origin matters. Research from the University of Illinois found that the standardized ileal digestibility of crude protein and most amino acids is greater in soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy than in soybean meal sourced from Brazil, Argentina or India, giving nutritionists a more precise and reliable foundation for diet formulation.

Read the rest of this article here, and read the research report about this work here.