Soybean meal is the most important protein source used to feed farm animals. Its feeding value is unsurpassed by any other plant protein source and it is the standard to which other protein sources are compared. Soybean meal is the by-product of the extraction of soybean oil. Soybean meal is usually classified for marketing by its crude protein content.
Soybeans generally contain about 18 to 20% triglyceride oil and 35 to 40% proteins on dry basis. Traditionally, soybeans are first processed in solvent extraction plants to obtain the vegetable oil and then the oil meal is either used as a component of different animal feeds.