AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Adam Lock, professor of dairy nutrition in the Department of Animal Sciences at Michigan State University. This podcast is brought to you by the AABP Nutrition Committee.

Soybeans and soybean meal products are an important source of protein and fat for dairy cow diets. Soybeans are typically 38-42% crude protein and 15-20% fat. The fat in conventional soybeans is 50-55% linoleic acid. Linoleic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) which can suppress milk fat production if fed at high levels. Roasting soybeans is common on dairy farms to increase the amount of bypass protein (RUP). 

High oleic fat soybeans have more recently been fed as a soybean source in dairy cattle diets. The primary advantage of these soybeans are that they have the same percentage of fat (20%) but the fatty acid profile is 75-80% oleic acid. Oleic acid does not directly suppress milk fat production since it is a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA). This allows us to safely feed a higher energy diet to cows. Lock suggests that we can target high producing or early lactation cows with these soybeans to provide more energy. These beans can result in higher production, higher milk fat and may have positive effects on health and immunity. 

Lock provides some general guidelines for incorporating high oleic acid soybeans in dairy cattle diets. They can be included at 8-12% of diet dry matter for roasted ground beans. Cows do not need a step-up period to incorporate these into the diet and an expected response should be seen in 7-10 days. Diets should be reformulated to account for this added fat and Lock states that many times other fat sources are removed, but some palm fats can be utilized with these beans for a better fat profile. Other protein sources, such as blood meal, can be adjusted. 

Effects of increasing dietary inclusion of high oleic acid soybeans on milk production of high-producing dairy cows

A.M. Bales, A.L. Lock

Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 107, Issue 10, 2024,

Pages 7867-7878, ISSN 0022-0302,

https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-2478

Effects of raw and roasted high oleic soybeans on milk production of high-producing dairy cows

A.M. Bales, A.L. Lock

Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 107, Issue 12, 2024,

Pages 10869-10881, ISSN 0022-0302,

https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-25092