At the 2026 ASAS Midwest Section Meeting, Dr. Hans H. Stein, professor of swine nutrition at the University of Illinois, spoke at the U.S. Soy-sponsored Swine Application Symposium, challenging long-held assumptions about the net energy (NE) value of soybean meal in swine diets.
Drawing from calorimetry research, historical feeding systems and evolving pig genetics, Stein made a case for updating one of the most fundamental inputs in diet formulation. His message was clear: the way the industry currently calculates net energy contribution from soybean meal no longer reflects modern pig genetics and production.
“The modern genotypes of pigs have greater nitrogen retention,” Stein said. “And that is connected to the net energy of soybean meal.”
If soybean meal contains more net energy than previously believed, the implications for swine nutrition are significant.
- The long-standing gap between corn and soybean meal narrows considerably. Stein estimates that soybean meal now provides between 90% and 100% of the net energy of corn.
- Diet formulation strategies that rely on lowering crude protein to increase energy may need to be reconsidered. The assumption that low-protein diets inherently deliver more energy no longer holds under current conditions.
- Prediction equations themselves will require updating.
Read more or watch the full interview here or below.