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Western cattle feeders will be able to have a first
hand look this spring at feeding operations in Lanigan, Saskatchewan and
Claresholm, Alberta to see the kind of fit prairie-grown edible oils can
have in feeder cattle rations.
Feedlot tours are being planned through the
Saskatoon-based Prairie Feed Resource Centre (PFRC) to showcase feedlot
demonstrations using sunflower, flax and canola seed as protein and energy
replacements in barley-based rations.
During the tours, starting in late March and April,
cattle feeders will see more than 1,400 head of steers on rations that
include edible-oils at the Pound-Maker Agventures feedlot at Lanigan,
Sask. and Claresholm Custom Feeders south of Calgary, says Vern Racz, PFRC
director.
“Using more edible oil crops in feedlot rations not
only benefits beef production, but also can increase market opportunities
for oilseed producers,” says Racz. “It has to make economic sense to the
feeder, but there are some years when, due to frost or poor growing
conditions, the oilseed doesn’t make the grade for human food consumption,
but makes excellent livestock feed.”
The edible oilseed project also shows the Canadian
beef industry is doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, says
Racz. “The industry, working through the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
(CCA), is committed to finding ways to economically produce beef products
with superior health benefits, while at the same time, ensuring
environmental sustainability. Research shows rations with higher oil
content significantly reduces production of methane, a greenhouse gas
produced in the rumen of cattle.”
The feeding demonstration is the applied component of
a PFRC-co-ordinated project, which began last year to develop a producer
manual on the use of oil seeds in feed rations. The work is funded by the
beef sector of the federal Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program (GHGMP) for
Canadian Agriculture. For more details on the project, see related
articles on the CCA Internet Web site at
www.cattle.ca. Click on the Stewardship button and follow the links.
The GHGMP is a federal program launched in 2003,
providing funds to develop awareness and further knowledge about improved
production practices that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The beef
sector of the program, administered by CCA has provided funding for dozens
of projects across Canada over the past three years.
The use of edible oils in rations has been researched
extensively over the years for several reasons. Oils were originally fed
to increase production efficiency, but recently, there has been renewed
interest in their ability to reduce emissions of rumen methane, a
greenhouse gas, and their potential to produce meat and milk products with
enhanced human health benefits.
Edible oils have been more commonly used in dairy
rations as a way to increase energy. They eliminate the negative side
effects and digestive disorders that can be associated with feeding more
fermentable carbohydrates found in a high grain ration. With oils,
producers have the benefit of increasing energy density in the diet
without increasing the risk of acidosis.
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