Review of the Quality of Soybeans Grown in Different Geographic Areas

Previous reports indicate variable soybean quality parameters exported/shipped from different geographic regions. This review summarizes the quality of soybeans grown under diverse environmental conditions from the three main exporting countries. Soybeans from the US and Brazil have similar levels of protein and oil but US soybeans have higher foreign material and lower heat damage or total damage than soybeans from Brazil. US and Brazil meal is reported to have higher crude protein than meal from Argentina. At equal crude protein content, USA meals had less fiber, more sucrose and lysine and better protein quality than South American meals. Methionine, threonine and cysteine levels were similar in soybean protein from US and Argentina and higher than levels of these three amino acids in soybean protein from Brazil. Soybean oil from Brazil had higher free fatty acids, neutral oil loss, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium than oil from the US or Argentina. Environmental conditions under which soybeans are grown can have a large impact on chemical composition and nutrient quality of soybean oil.