Effect of replacing soybean meal with urea or encapsulated nitrate with or without elemental sulfur on nitrogen digestion and methane emissions in feedlot cattle

•Encapsulated nitrate plus elemental sulfur replaced 62% of the N from soybean meal without negatively affecting N utilization.•Encapsulated nitrate plus elemental sulfur did not improve efficiency of microbial protein synthesis.•Encapsulated nitrate plus elemental sulfur did not decrease methane production and was not detrimental to rumen fermentation.