Consistency pays: The hidden value of soybean meal in layer diets

8 April 2026

10 minute read

By: Sarah Mikesell

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Dr. Thomas D’Alfonso, PhD, Worldwide Animal Nutrition Focus Area Director at the U.S. Soybean Export Council, was interviewed by The Poultry Site’s Sarah Mikesell about how consistency in soybean meal quality connects directly to egg weight, shell strength, flock health and the revenue side of a layer operation – not just the cost side.

Layer producers are under constant pressure to reduce feed costs, and the conversation often starts with price per ton of protein. Why is that an incomplete way to evaluate a protein source and where should the conversation start instead? 

When it comes to a protein source, there's no better source than soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy. It's a very consistent source of the essential amino acids and the metabolizable energy that's needed. Producers who have a consistent source of these essential nutrients in the animals’ diet are better able to match the nutrient requirements of an entire flock. They are providing one feed to many different birds at one time and knowing what's in that feed is a key factor to getting the diet balanced correctly. 

Egg operations are graded on more than just 10-day production. Can you help producers connect the dots between what goes into the feed and what comes out in terms of egg size, shell quality and grade distribution? 

I pursued this topic during my PhD dissertation and looked at the sources of variance in laying hen production and whether it was from the diet or their environment. Diet is extremely important. When it comes to making profit in the egg industry, cost is important, but revenue should be higher than cost or you're not making money. To make revenue in the egg industry, you don't just need a good number of eggs – you need a good size distribution. 

Eggs that are grade A large are very profitable. Producers can get the highest revenue per unit of animal protein. If eggs are too small or too big, you don't get as much revenue per unit as you do when you're hitting that target weight range. Having a diet that's well balanced as well as proper genetics, production management and environmental practices in the building will get those animals to not only meet their genetic potential, but to produce eggs that share uniform size and weight.

What is egg uniformity actually worth in dollar terms? 

The dollar amount that I like to refer to goes back to $0.01 per kilogram of animal protein produced. That may sound like a small amount because it's only pennies, but when you're making a few cents per pound or per kilogram, then that can be 20% to 30% of revenue. 

Revenue is made in the egg industry by producing lots of eggs of good size in their target weight range. What we have seen in the industry is optimizing diets at least cost and also meeting the genetic potential of the animals while getting an additional $0.01 per pound of animal protein is completely feasible. That's about $0.02 per kilogram and it adds up quite a bit over time. 

For a large operation producing 20,000 tons of feed per year for feeding layers, that could add as much as $3 million to their bottom line by getting better feed efficiency and better egg production as a result. Soybean meal plays an enormous role in the ability to produce those eggs. It provides the essential amino acids and metabolizable energy, and it creates a difference in profitability due to high quality ingredients versus low quality ingredients, which has a big impact on the bottom line. 

Layer operations have access to daily production data in a way that other species don't. How does that change the way producers and nutritionists should think about ingredient consistency? 

During my research, I looked at the effect of variability on laying performance. We studied variance in metabolizable energy fluctuating daily, versus a consistent diet where there’s a consistent source of metabolizable energy such as soybean meal made from U.S. Soy. We discovered that when the variability of the diet increased, feed conversion increased which means feed efficiency went down. 

When an animal experiences a nutrient deficiency, that laying hen will eat more feed to make up for that. If the animal experiences higher metabolizable energy than is needed, it'll just convert into fat, so the net result is that having variability of metabolizable energy means that feed consumption goes up without egg production or egg weight going up. This is a result of animals compensating for that variability and it costs producers in feed efficiency. 

A claim about soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy is superior amino acid digestibility. What does that mean in practical terms for a nutritionist formulating layer diets? 

Nutritionists have come a long way throughout my career. For example, we started looking at essential amino acids, limiting amino acids and studying the relationships between total amino acids. In the last 10 to 20 years, it's all been about digestibility, which has two main components: diet and the animal. 

First, the diet needs to be highly digestible, which in the case of soybean meal means there's no heat damage. The beans should be mature when they are processed into soybean meal. Feed that includes abnormalities such as green beans or heat-damaged beans will be less digestible. This can’t always be physically seen, so producers need to measure. 

The second factor is the animal. To measure digestibility, you need to look at how well the animal digests it. This includes having a healthy digestive system. Animals need to reach their genetic potential through consuming the nutrients and essential amino acids needed to produce a dozen eggs at the right size and weight. 

Digestibility is also a factor of health and dependent on the health of the animal. The digestive tract can be damaged by undigested proteins. We’ve seen a relationship between a healthy gut, high quality ingredients and high performing animals – that's what you need. If any one of those three things are poor: poor gut health, poor ingredient quality or poor management, it can only go downhill from there. Getting all three of those right, to meet the genetic potential of today's modern layer genetics, requires healthy animals and high-quality feed. 

Research comparing soybean meal from different origins has shown meaningful differences in egg weight, with hens fed U.S. origin soybean meal averaging 65.4 grams per egg versus 62.1 grams for Brazil origin soybean meal.  How do you explain these differences mechanically? How significant is a 3 gram difference at production scale? 

Research has proven that feeding high quality soybean meal provides essential amino acids and metabolizable energy will get animals as close to their genetic potential as they can from a diet standpoint. Having good management, health and biosecurity are also very important. 

The differences described in your example occur because when a hen meets her nutrient requirements, she will produce eggs within a target range. In layer production, we often look at lowering the cost of the diet. This doesn't mean your ingredients should be low quality and low cost. Otherwise, it becomes “pay me now or pay me later.” 

It's best to look at the cost per unit of animal protein produced because it determines the bottom line profitability of modern poultry operations, whether it's broilers, layers or any other species. This looks at revenue minus cost and is a result of good egg size and egg production minus the cost of feed. You can lower the cost of feed if you balance the diet with digestible amino acids and metabolizable energy in a consistent manner. 

If you have ingredients that are inconsistent, you penalize them by using a safety margin, which means you should lower your assumption about the quality you're receiving. This will make your diet more expensive. 

If you purchase less expensive and lower quality ingredients, feed costs will rise and animal performance will worsen. This is what I mean by “pay me now or pay me later” - you're going to be paying at the processing plant or when you get revenue for your eggs when they're graded. You won't get the level of production or egg size that you could be getting by adopting a preference for soybean meal made from U.S. Soy. 

Research has shown differences in eggshell strength and albumin quality, depending on the protein source used during both the growing and laying periods. Why does soybean meal origin affect shell and albumin quality and how does that affect a producer's revenue? 

Differences in feed origin have a significant impact on production. It's quite remarkable that the sustainable farming practices of the U.S. Soy farmer has made such a difference. U.S. soybeans are produced by family farms, who know their soil, cropland and what inputs are needed at various places in the field to get a uniform level of those essential amino acids and metabolize energy at high levels. 

U.S. Soy dries naturally in the field. Soybeans harvested from areas with very wet climates such as Brazil have high levels of moisture. They require mechanical drying, often through dryers that burn eucalyptus logs. This process causes inconsistency in nutrient composition and heat damage. In addition, they often include a lot of green beans. They're not mature, so there’s lower digestibility. 

When you have a diet consistent in essential amino acids and metabolizable energy, you're providing a healthy diet that's helping to keep the gastrointestinal system functioning like a high performance race car. You're providing the high quality fuel that's needed. 

Having a healthy digestive system means every single nutrient is affected, which includes lysine and calcium. As a result, you get better egg production, solid shells, good shell quality and strong nutrient composition of the eggs and egg mass production by utilizing high-quality soybean meal that contains essential amino acids. 

The farming practices mentioned earlier lead to a difference in quality and in profitability by adopting a preference for soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy. 

U.S. Soy carries a sustainability story rooted in how American farmers manage their land. For a layer producer selling into global markets, how does that sustainability story connect to their own business growth and sourcing commitments? 

The layer industry benefits from having soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy in a number of ways, starting with better sustainability practices. You can report to your shareholders and consumers that you have made a management decision that lowers your carbon footprint. 

Consumers are often concerned about where their eggs come from, more so than most other animal proteins. They want to know what the animals were fed and how they were raised. They want the animals to be healthy. Using soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy as an ingredient in the diet provides a sustainability benefit that can be used in marketing. 

Consumers want to see consistency in the products that they purchase, and they prefer sustainably-sourced products. There's benefit downstream at the consumer level that can be communicated. Also, because of the critical role that soybean meal plays in the diet, you can lower the cost of feed and therefore eggs. At the same time, you're increasing revenue by raising egg production, weight and shell quality, which all contribute to revenue. 

Is soybean meal a foundational part of a proper poultry diet?

Yes, soybean meal provides an optimal poultry diet. Research in the last 10 years has shown that soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy has high digestibility due to essential amino acids that contribute to metabolizable energy. When we think of metabolizable energy, we often consider carbohydrates and fat, but it also comes from having highly digestible amino acids. We're seeing high quality soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy having nearly as much metabolizable energy as corn. 

I've worked in animal nutrition all over the world and seen corn-soy diets, wheat-soy diets and sorghum-soy diets. These all include soy but use other ingredients as additives. While these can provide good and inexpensive sources of calories, they don’t offer the nutrient bundle that you get in soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy. It's so perfect in its essential amino acid profile and consistency that it should be considered the base ingredient in poultry diets.