The large expansion of the canola crushing industry that occurred in North America since 2010 has increased the supply of canola meal for the animal feed industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service reported canola meal production in 2016-17 in the U.S. was 1.3 million tons, increasing about 20 percent from the previous crop. Similarly, according to the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, 4.9 million tons of canola were produced in Canada in 2016 — 14 percent more than the previous year.
The United States is the major importer of canola meal from Canada (73 percent of the production), which is fed mainly to dairy cows. Several research projects, founded by the Canola Council of Canada, have been conducted in public universities and research centers from the U.S. and Canada to maximize the use of canola meal in dairy diets.
Chemical composition
Researchers from the University of Manitoba, South Dakota State University and the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center evaluated the nutritive composition and ruminal degradability of protein in canola meal samples from Canadian processing facilities.
Overall, canola meal is a good source of bypass protein (42.6 percent of total protein) and limiting amino acids (lysine and methionine) with low content in fat. One of the main canola meal issues is its high content on indigestible fiber. In vitro tests conducted in a commercial feed laboratory show that more than 50 percent of the fiber is indigestible (estimated after 120 hours of incubation).
Continue reading this article published in Feed Strategy.
