ProPound expands canola meal opportunities for poultry and swine

The feed industry is already well aware of the fact that canola meal excels in dairy cow diets. Time and time again, canola meal has demonstrated a 1L per cow per day milk yield advantage. But what about pigs and chickens?

Well, research clearly shows that canola meal can be used to support maximum growth potential in these animals, but limitations on its use are real.

Here are the facts: Canola meal has 36 per cent crude protein and soybean meal has 48 per cent. Not only does soybean meal have more protein, but that protein is also around 10 percentage points more digestible than canola meal, on average. Then there is the fibre. Unlike the dairy cow, pigs and chickens can’t put much of that fibre to use. And unlike soybean hull, the canola hull is not easily removed to concentrate the protein.

The canola industry and livestock nutrition researchers have been looking into various processing methods to reduce the fibre, concentrate the protein and raise canola meal’s value compared to soybean meal. While methods can achieve this goal, they have not proven cost effective. Seed genetics seem to be the best way forward, keeping in mind that improving the meal profile must also maintain the value of the oil.

Dow AgroSciences has successfully developed the first line of high-protein canola meal. Called ProPound, this meal has a protein content comparable to soybean meal, and improved digestibility and lower levels of fibre than standard canola meal. This newly advanced canola meal will be more cost effective than soybean meal, and provide a versatile product for swine and poultry producers to use in various stages of production.

While genetic improvements have been vast and impressive in the canola industry, Dow’s new product is the first of its kind to go after a segment of the livestock industry that could really benefit from improvements in the canola meal nutrient profile.

So how does this product get into the hands of Canadian livestock producers? To learn more, I went to Carson Callum, animal nutritionist with Dow AgroSciences.

“Dow is very excited to introduce ProPound to the Canadian livestock industry. Having this additional high-quality protein option for feeding means improved bottom lines for livestock producers. Reception so far in the feed and livestock industries in Western Canada and the U.S. has been very positive, so I see this new product fitting well into a monogastric feed ration,” he says.

ProPound will be launched this fall, with limited material available. “Beginning in 2017, RoundUp Ready and Clearfield Nexera hybrids with ProPound will become more widely available to support market expansion,” Callum says.

For swine and poultry producers who aren’t able to get their hands on ProPound this year, rest assured that conventional canola meal along with high-oil expeller meal are both great alternatives to soybean meal. Researchers across the Prairies have been taking outdated practices on the use and inclusion rates for standard canola meal and pushing the boundaries. See the sidebar for more on this work.

As the Canola Meal Manager at the Canola Council of Canada, I’m excited to
be able to discuss various high quality, canola meal options with the poultry and swine industry.

Pushing the boundaries of canola meal use

Canola meal for lactating sows. In Canada, swine nutritionists are using, on average, 10 per cent canola meal in the diets of lactating sows. This maximum is based on the notion that lactating sows need a high plane of nutrition to support piglet growth. It is thought that the fibre in canola meal can limit intake. Dr. Martin Nyachoti at the University of Manitoba has recently demonstrated an inclusion of 30 per cent canola meal in these diets with satisfactory piglet and sow performance.

Palatability concerns. Does canola meal still taste bitter to pigs? Research out of the University of Alberta and the University of Manitoba have both recently demonstrated that even starter pigs can consume large quantities of canola meal in the diet without drops in feed intake when compared to soybean meal and with proper diet formulation practices. A market research report was commissioned with Ipsos Canada to better understand canola meal usage and perceptions in Canadian livestock nutritionists. Palatability was determined to be a weakness by 47 per cent of those formulating diets for pigs. This new research will provide confidence to nutritionists that pigs in stages of growth will consume canola meal.

Canolamazing.com is no longer just for dairy cows. Head over to canolamazing.com to view information on canola meal in swine and poultry diets and to access the 2015 Canola Meal Feed Guide in English, Mandarin and Spanish.