Soybean meal is the by-product of the extraction of soybean oil. Several processes exist, resulting in different products. Soybean meal is usually classified for marketing by its crude protein content. There are two main categories of soybean meal, the âhigh-proteinâ soybean meal with 47-49% protein and 3% crude fiber, obtained from dehulled seeds, and the âconventional" soybean meal, with 43-44% protein, that contain the hulls. In solvent-extracted soybean meals, the oil content is typically lower than 2% while it exceeds 3% in mechanically-extracted meals. Soybean meal is the most important protein source used to feed farm animals.
