A study was conducted to determine the variability on chemical and nutritional characteristics of soybean meal from the West and Southwest Paraná state. Forty samples of soybean meal were collected in ten different processors and distributors during four months consecutively. There were differences (P<0.05) among the dry matter (DM) in samples of soybean meal analyzed. The soybean meal 10 had less (P<0.05) level of DM (86.72%) compared with soybean meals 2, 4, 5, 6 and 9 (88.96, 90.60, 89.19, 89.08 and 88.72%, respectively). The soybean meal 4 showed less content of Ca (0.31%), while the soybean meals 5 and 7 had higher levels of Ca (0.36 and 0.36, respectively). The calculated TMEn value of soybean meal 8 was higher (P<0.05) than soybean meals 5 and 10 (2.65 versus 2.51 and 2.50Mcal kg-1, respectively). The chemical composition of soybean meal from the West and Southwest Paraná state is homogenous and near that found in scientific literature, except for neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, iron and manganese.
broilers; feedstuffs; swine
