Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference 

October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota

Assessing the Degradability of a Soybean Hull-based Baling Twine

Baling twine is commonly used in storing forage, but conventional synthetic materials, such as polypropylene, can pose risks to livestock health and the environment if ingested. Plant-based alternatives that are biodegradable and digestible may reduce these risks. Soybean hulls (SH), a highly digestible feedstuff rich in neutral detergent fiber, were evaluated as a component of a novel polylactic acid (PLA)-based twine. The objective of this study was to assess the ruminal digestibility of PLA/SH twines with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% SH (SH-0, SH-10, SH-20, SH-30) in mature cannulated Jersey steers. Twine samples, along with a positive control (alfalfa), a negative control (polypropylene), and an alternative plant fiber (sisal), were incubated in situ for 0, 24, 72, 120, and 168 hours. After incubation, samples were washed, dried, and disappearance was calculated as the proportion of material lost. The overall degradation rate of the PLA/SH twines increased linearly with SH content (PLA0 = 0.000001, PLA10 = 0.000081, PLA20 = 0.000391, PLA30 = 0.01737; p = 0.0182). For comparison, alfalfa degraded the most (0.09437), sisal showed moderate degradation (0.008842), while polypropylene was not degraded (0). These results suggest that incorporating soybean hulls into PLA-based twine can enhance degradation compared to conventional polypropylene twine, providing a promising strategy for developing safer, plant-based baling materials.