Leterme: Nutritive Value of Canola Meal and Full-Fat Canola Seeds in Swine

Date: 2006
Term: 3 years
Status: Completed
Researcher(s): Dr. Pascal Leterme, C. Montoya and P. Kish, Prairie Swine Centre Inc., Saskatoon, SK
SaskCanola Investment: $46,250
Total Project Cost: n/a
Funding Partners: n/a

Project Summary

Canola meal (CM) is used in animal nutrition but has to compete with other protein sources, and is currently not used to full potential in swine nutrition. The objectives of this project were to determine the digestible (DE) and net energy (NE) content of CM and full-fat canola seeds (FFCS) in growing pigs and adult sows, and to provide nutritional information in which nutritionists have a high degree of confidence. Researchers concluded that inclusion rates in a pig diet could be as high as 15% of CM and 10% of FFCS without any risk for growth rate.

Canola meal (CM) is used in animal nutrition but has to compete with other protein sources. Currently, it is not used to full potential in swine nutrition, due in part to a lack of confidence in its nutritional quality. Full-fat canola seeds (FFCS) are expected to be a better energy source because of their high oil content. However, no information is available on their energy value in swine.

The objectives of this project were to determine the digestible (DE) and net energy (NE) content of CM and FFCS in growing pigs and adult sows, and to provide nutritional information in which nutritionists have a high degree of confidence. The project also evaluated the accuracy of the NE estimation of canola meal and canola seeds through growth experiments in pigs. CM and FFCS are feed ingredients used in swine nutrition. CM has a high dietary fibre content whereas FFCS is very rich in oil. These high levels limit the inclusion levels of these ingredients into balanced diets because dietary fibre at higher levels prevents digestion, and the gastrointestinal tract is limited in its capacity to digest oil.

The project was divided into two parts. In the first two years of the study, two digestibility trials were carried out on growing pigs and gestating sows in order to estimate the DE and NE content of three samples of CM and three samples of FFCS. During the third year, a growth study was carried out with pigs receiving graded levels of CM or FFCS in order to evaluate their response to canola intake and validate their respective results of NE in growing pigs.

The study results showed that for canola meal, the digestible energy content was 3.51 Mcal DE/kg and the net energy content was 2.41 Mcal NE/kg. For full-fat canola seeds, the digestible energy content was 4.99 Mcal DE/kg and the net energy content was 3.53 Mcal NE/kg. The accuracy of these results were confirmed through the growth study. Researchers concluded that inclusion rates in a pig diet could be as high as 15% of CM and 10% of FFCS without any risk for growth rate.

Table 3. Body weight and growth performances of growing pigs fed with graded levels of canola meal (CM) in the diets

Table 4. Body weight and growth performances of growing pigs fed with graded levels of full-fat canola seed (FFCS) in the diets

Scientific Publications:

Montoya, C. A. and Leterme, P. 2010. Validation of the net energy content of canola meal and full-fat canola seeds in growing pigs. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 90: 213_219

Full Report PDF: Nutritive Value of Canola Meal and Full-Fat Canola Seeds in Swine