Mutsvangwa: Amino Acids Utilization and Peripheral Tissue Metabolism in Ruminants Fed Full-Fat Canola-Based Diets
Date: 2009
Term: 4 years
Status: Completed
Researcher(s): Timothy T. Mutsvangwa, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK
SaskCanola Investment: $80,000
Total Project Cost: $301,742
Funding Partners: CCC, NSERC
Project Summary
Lactating dairy cows or growing beef cattle require amino acids for milk production and growth. These amino acids are the "building blocks" of milk protein and skeletal muscle. Animals will meet this amino acid requirement from protein that is provided in the diet and from the digestion in the small intestine of microorganisms that grow in the four-stomachs. In western Canada, there is considerable interest in feeding full-fat canola seed or oilseed meals because they provide high quality protein and can increase the energy density of diets fed to cattle because of their high residual oil content. In addition, full-fat canola seed has the potential to alter the fatty acid composition of milk and meat to contain less saturated and more unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids have been reported to have beneficial effects on human cardiovascular health and to reduce the risk of cancer. Before the initiation of this project, relatively little research had been done to evaluate the effects of the protein fraction in full-fat canola seed as a source of protein for beef cattle and dairy cows, so the overall objective of this research was to determine the effects of full-fat canola seed, treated canola meal and canola by-products on milk production and composition, feed digestion and growth of microorganisms in the fore-stomachs and nutrient flow from the fore-stomachs to the small intestine.
Because dietary protein is an expensive component of beef and dairy cattle rations, the results from this study indicate that full-fat canola seed and canola presscake (a by-product from the biodiesel industry) are alternative protein supplements that can be included in cattle rations at a cheaper cost without compromising milk production or animal growth. This information is very useful to the livestock and feed industries as it can be used to fine-tune cattle rations to optimize the efficiency of utilization of nitrogen, thereby reducing the negative environmental consequences of intensive livestock operations like beef feedlots and dairy farms. Also, feeding full-fat canola seed to lactating dairy cows increased the milk fat contents of desirable omega-3 fatty acids, thus enhancing the nutritional properties of milk.
The use of full-fat canola seed to enrich milk with unsaturated fatty acids with identified beneficial health consequences for humans represents a most significant opportunity for Saskatchewan canola farmers to add value to their canola crop. In addition, it also represents a significant opportunity for Saskatchewan dairy farmers to add value to milk, which should improve the health of western Canadians and expand global markets for both canola products and enriched milk and meat products. As the results of this project are in the public domain, they are available to the canola, livestock and feed industries for use in various ways (e.g., marketing strategies, specialized feed formulations etc.). The knowledge generated from this work has the potential to enhance the competitiveness of the canola and feed industries, and the dairy and beef sectors in the optimum utilization of canola-based proteins to replace animal proteins in ruminant diets. This will increase consumer acceptance of ruminant edible food products and also increase food safety. The information can also be used for marketing purposes. This will allow the development of alternative markets for full-fat canola seed and canola by-products.