The Influence of Soybean Oil Meal upon Roughage Digestion in Cattle

Abstract

The influence of soybean oil meal upon corncob and timothy hay dry matter digestion was studied using steers fed fattening cattle rations. Four rations were used, one with and one without corncobs at an 8 percent protein level, and one ration with and one without corncobs at a 15 percent protein level. Four steers received each ration in two series of trials. The dry matter digestion in corncobs and timothy hay was increased by 14 percent and 17 percent respectively, by the inclusion of soybean oil meal in the ration. These differences are of practical significance. In the case of corncobs, the beneficial influence of soybean oil meal was not sufficiently great to fully explain the divergent feedlot results on the value of cobs obtained by different investigators. It is possible that factors other than protein may have been responsible for the favorable influence of soybean oil mea upon corncob and timothy hay dry matter digestion.