From least cost to digestible nutrient – consider a new way to evaluate poultry feed

18 March 2026

6 minute read

By: Sarah Mikesell

North America

Feed costs dominate poultry production budgets, often accounting for 60% to 70% of total expenses. In an environment marked by volatile ingredient markets and tightening margins, it is understandable that producers and nutritionists scrutinize every dollar spent on feed. But focusing only on price per ton can obscure a more important metric: the value delivered per unit of digestible nutrient.

Thomas D’Alfonso, Ph.D., Worldwide Animal Nutrition Focus Area Director, U.S. Soybean Export Council, says poultry producers must rethink how they evaluate soybean meal and other protein sources if they want to maximize profitability.

“Profit is simply revenue minus cost,” D’Alfonso said. “Quite often, we forget about revenue in this. There’s a lot of focus on reducing cost per ton of feed or reducing cost per pound or kilogram of meat produced. But there’s more to it than that – let’s focus on getting more revenue rather than just reducing cost.”

According to D’Alfonso, those revenue opportunities are directly tied to growth rate, feed efficiency, flock uniformity and the ability of birds to reach their genetic potential. All of those outcomes, he argues, are influenced by ingredient quality and consistency, especially when it comes to soybean meal.

The hidden cost of least-cost formulation

Many nutritionists still compare protein sources using price per ton, an approach that can create what D’Alfonso calls a “false economy.” Ingredients may appear cheaper on paper, but variability in nutrient composition and digestibility can erode performance and profitability downstream.

“When you’re making ingredient purchasing decisions, you’re counting on those ingredients to have the nutrients that you assumed in your feed formulation process,” he said. “And the fact is, ingredients are variable in nutrient composition.”

Moisture alone can significantly dilute nutrient concentrations, but D’Alfonso said origin also matters. Soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy is consistently higher in digestible amino acids and metabolizable energy than meal sourced from other origins, where higher moisture levels and processing challenges increase variability.

“If you’re sourcing ingredients like soybean meal derived from other origins like Brazil or Argentina, there tends to be higher moisture, more variability and less digestibility,” he said. “You’re not getting the nutrients delivered in your poultry diet that you expect.”

That uncertainty forces nutritionists to build in safety margins, assuming lower nutrient values to protect against deficiencies. Those margins raise formulation costs and still may not fully protect animal performance.

Cost per digestible nutrient changes the equation

D’Alfonso advocates evaluating ingredients based on cost per unit of digestible nutrient rather than cost per ton. When digestibility and consistency are factored in, soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy delivers more economic value than its sticker price suggests.

“Our analysis shows that soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy can be as much as $25 per metric ton more valuable than soybean meal made from soy of other origins,” he said. “That comes from the consistency and the digestibility of essential amino acids and calories found in U.S. Soy.”

That value compounds over time: 

• Faster growth allows more production cycles per year.
• Improved uniformity means more birds reach processing plants within target weight ranges, where premiums are often paid.
• Better feed efficiency reduces the feed required per unit of meat produced.

“If you’re simply lowering the cost per ton of feed, you’re not taking into account digestibility and animal performance,” D’Alfonso said. “Raising a more uniform flock means they’re going to receive more revenue and better feed efficiency means you need less feed to produce the same amount of animal protein. Unfortunately, we don’t always take these things into account when we are formulating the diet, but we need to rethink our approach.”

Soybean meal as a foundational ingredient

Rather than treating soybean meal as just another protein source, D’Alfonso encourages nutritionists to think of soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy as the foundation of poultry diets, with other ingredients acting as supplements.

“I like thinking of soybean meal as the foundation, the base ingredient in the diet, and everything else being an additive,” he said.

Research and commercial experience show that alternative protein sources and byproducts like sunflower meal, canola meal, dried distillers grains and palm kernel meal are often less consistent and less digestible. While they may lower formulation costs in the short term, they increase risk and diet complexity.

“When you add these alternative ingredients or byproducts like distillers grains, in Southeast Asia we might see palm kernel meal, they simply have higher moisture, higher variability and lower digestibility,” said D’Alfonso. “

Those challenges disrupt amino acid balance and energy ratios, making it harder to predict body weight, feed intake and timing of diet transitions. Once birds fall off track, he said, performance rarely recovers fully.

“There’s only one way to go from the genetic potential,” D’Alfonso said. “That’s down.”

Digestibility drives growth, efficiency and uniformity

Digestibility sits at the center of D’Alfonso’s argument. Lysine digestibility in soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy exceeds 90%, compared with 84% to 86% in many alternative sources. The percent difference may seem small, but it can mean significant losses in growth rate, feed conversion and flock uniformity.

“If there’s less digestibility, then there’s simply less animal protein that’s going to be produced,” he said. “It’s pretty much a direct relationship.”

Inconsistent nutrient delivery also triggers biological inefficiencies. Birds respond to nutrient deficiencies by increasing feed intake, and excess energy may be deposited as fat. Variability, D’Alfonso said, drives higher feed consumption for the same rate of gain, increasing costs.

“Having consistent levels of nutrient means that the animal converts those nutrients more efficiently,” he said. “Looking at high quality ingredients, like U.S. Soy, that improve digestibility and consistency of the diet means that the animals are going to be more uniform, they’re going to grow faster and convert more efficiently.”

Beyond amino acids and energy, soybean meal contains functional compounds such as isoflavones, saponins and bioactive peptides that support gut health and immune function. These are benefits not captured in traditional formulation matrices.

“We don’t formulate diets on isoflavones or saponins or bioactive peptides,” D’Alfonso said. “But they make the animal perform to their genetic potential.”

Consistency reduces risk and safety margins

Consistency is one of the most valuable attributes of soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy, which is particularly important for nutritionists tasked with managing risk.

“When you have a base ingredient in the diet, like U.S. Soybean meal at high inclusion levels, you’re lowering the variance of the diet at the same time,” D’Alfonso said.

Lower variability allows nutritionists to tighten safety margins and formulate closer to true nutrient requirements, reducing over-formulation costs without sacrificing performance. According to D’Alfonso, variability accounts for more than half of the estimated $25/metric ton premium value of soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy.

“When it comes to animal performance, it’s $50/metric ton in more value,” he said. “So as long as animal protein is worth more than animal feed, you’re going to get more value.”

Shifting the mindset from feed conversion to profitability

D’Alfonso challenges producers and nutritionists to rethink traditional performance metrics, particularly feed conversion ratio.

“Feed conversion is not profitability,” he said. “Feed conversion is a ratio. Profit is a subtraction, again - it’s simply revenue minus cost.”

While feed conversion remains important, he said it does not capture revenue drivers such as processing plant premiums, production cycles per year or sustainability credentials that influence market access.

A global message with local impact

Across global poultry operations, D’Alfonso sees consistent results where producers adopt a preference for soybean meal derived from U.S. Soy. Lower feed costs, improved animal performance and reduced carbon footprint often occur simultaneously.

“What excites me the most is when the animals start talking,” he said. “When the animals tell you they’re performing better, meaning they’re growing faster, are more uniform and they’re bringing more value.”

Those outcomes reinforce the message that ingredient quality matters as much as ingredient price. For poultry producers and nutritionists navigating tight margins and increasing performance expectations, D’Alfonso believes the path forward is clear.

“Selecting high quality ingredients that add value, like U.S. Soy – even if it’s slightly more expensive,” he said, “is how you reach the animal’s genetic potential.”

If you'd like to learn more, visit ussec.org for the latest research and resources. This information is partially funded by the U.S. Soy Checkoff.