Traditional livestock, cattle, horses, pigs eat SBM. Seems a lot of "feed" stores want to just carry the prepackaged feeds from the big producers like Purina rather than the generic brand (plain SBM). The further you go into farming and ranching areas the more likely you will find it.

One of the problems you run into trying to buy Soy Bean Meal in a fifty pound bag is...feed stores often do not carry it.

Most livestock operations that feed soy, buy it by the 55 foot semi-truck load.

Very few farm operations in the livestock business use bagged feed.

Hobby farmers and 4-H kids need bagged feed...but they use the blended feeds with veterinary drugs added ... not the pure SBM you want to use on your lawn.

And since I do not think any company has tested and been approved to sell bagged SBM as a lawn fertilizer...it can be impossible to find ... except it seems for some odd reason in Texas.

I live in a small Iowa town with a Cargill soy bean processing plant that consumes 100 or more semi-truck loads of soybeans each day. They also make fuel grade soy bio-diesel ... and I'm smack-dab in the very heart of some of the largest pork farms in the world ...

And, alas I can not buy SBM in bags in my area. But, I can get you a truck load!

would it be possible to buy fresh soybeans and make my own meal? using a coffee grinder, blender or something?

Although real SBM is supposed to have their oil extracted already.. not sure if fresh soy bean oil is harmful or not?

I'm in central IL, surrounded by soy and corn fields, yet the feed stores I've looked at don't stock either meal. I even have ADM and Incobrasa in a neighboring towns (big processors of corn and soy). One feed store special ordered it for me, since their distributor carries it. The label on the bag showed that it was bagged a couple of hundred miles south of me...go figure.

Talk to your feed stores about special ordering it. Some of the non-chain stores can get it. Some of the chain stores (Agway, I hear?) can get it too (or even stock it!). Even with special order, it wasn't _too_ expensive (about $14, which seems to be about the median I've heard)

-Jeremy

My feed store orders the 50 pound bags of meals for me. They don't keep them in stock. I call them and order it and in about a week or two, and they call me to let me know when it when arrives.

I suppose, if you don't have a "relationship" with the feed store, they may ask you to pay when you order.

I buy my dog food and bird seed there, so they know me.

does anyone know if I can use fresh soybeans? grinded up or not?

does anyone know if I can use fresh soybeans? grinded up or not?

Absolutely. All you need is a half way descent Grain Grinder. You might be able to pic one up at a Flea Market. If you do grind your own set it to a very course grind.

As for the Soy Beans, try an Organic Health Food Store. Some carry bulk items and give you discount if you order the whole bag, which is usually 50lbs.

processed soybean meal have the oil from it solvent extracted... does that mean the oil is not good or its just by product after taking the valuable oil?

This may not have been the best solution, but since my yard is tiny - I picked up a bag of soy flour from the health food section of the grocery store. I'm assuming it's just a finer grind of meal. If any one know's of any problems with this please let me know. I have a postage stamp sized yard - so it wasn't overly expensive for me. I realize it could be a problem for folks withy normal sized yards.

processed soybean meal have the oil from it solvent extracted... does that mean the oil is not good or its just by product after taking the valuable oil?

Not exactly sure. but I can think of 2 things off hand. Extracting the oil would make grinding the soybeans easier(no clumping/caking) and it could be stored longer. I don't foresee any negative effects on the lawn/soil. I have ground cracked corn straight from the feed store several times with no problems.

I picked up a bag of soy flour from the health food section of the grocery store. I'm assuming it's just a finer grind of meal. If any one know's of any problems with this please let me know.

No Problems what so ever its just much finer ground. The only problem most people have with "flours" is that it's impossible to use a spreader, you have to spread it by hand.

lucygreenthumb- have you considered using Used Coffee Grounds on your lawn? You can pick them up for free at any Starbucks.

I would not Feed "fresh soybean"! Soybeans contain lysine, which could be harmful to some animals, but however you can process your own by boiling, to extract the lysine, draining off the liquid, drying, and then grind up the soy to make your own meal,soy meal is found in almost all pre-processed feed, its in there primarily for its protein content which is very high usually about 17% so you dont want to feed it straight, it needs to be mixed with other grains to have a balanced feed.

I'm in CT and I get Nutrena brand SBM from Winsted Feed. About 15.25 plus tax per 50 lbs

For the most part those companies that sell animal feed sell mixtures, so all animal food contains soybean meal as well as corn meal and other grains. None of the feed stores in this area sell just soybean meal, even those that mix their own feed, and have storage bins full of soybean meal.

poorowner, soybean meal has been an important component of concentrates available for feeding almost all farm animals. If I remember correctly, the soya bean (Glycine max) is the only plant that contains some protein that closely resembles animal protein. It therefore became an important article of diet in cultures that were traditionally vegeterian. Soybean oil emerged as an important vegetable oil and soybean meal, a useful byproduct of the oil manufacture. Things have changed. Two such areas are the oil extraction process itself and the widened use of 'soy' products for human consumption. Nowadays, SBM is useful in the lawn care business and if I were an investor, I would look into its future.

Soybeans have been an important part of the diet of Asians for centuries and only since about the 1940's has it been a fairly large part of the food chain for us in the USA, and only since the 1970's has many of the by products, tofu for one, been that popular with some people. There are also some that are concerned that since soybeans have not been a part of the european peoples development that they may not be good for us, that the sudden onset of consumption (the 1940's) has not been long enough for our digestive system to adapt to the soybean. The soybean became a part of the diet of those of us in the USA because, primarily, of world war 2.