Fernando Diaz
Which soy alternatives can be fed to small ruminants like sheep? Sunflower meal and peas seem to be good choices, and treatment (protection) can result in lower protein needed for the same performance. Protein is an essential component of animal feed that the industry cannot do without.
Soybean meal is used a lot and serves as a great protein source for animal diets. However, the use of (primarily) South American soy is questioned because of environmental reasons, despite efforts to make all the soy sustainable. This is why nutritionists are looking for other protein sources to feed to livestock animals.
Sunflower meal: complements the AA profile
Sunflower (Helianthus annus) meal is widely used in the European Union, which was the main meal importer and the second largest producer in 2012/13 (USDA–FASS, 2014). Sunflower meal is a co-product of sunflower oil extraction; with variable content of crude protein (31-37% of dry matter; DM) depending upon the extent of de-hulling of the seed.
Its protein is highly degradable in the rumen, normally above 80%. Since sunflower meal protein is characterised by a relative lysine deficiency and a high content in sulphur amino acids and tryptophan, it complements well the amino acid profile of leguminous seeds.
Continue reading this article published in All About Feeds.
