Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Canadian-grown canola contributes $26.7 billion to the Canadian economy each year. Its current production sits at approximately 21 million tonnes of canola seed per year and is expected to increase to 26 million tonnes per year by 2025. As the demand for canola continues to grow, the focus shifts from conventional crushing to value-added processing and specialty-product production, including: 1) Canola protein concentrates (CPC) and their co-products, and 2) Expeller/cold-pressed canola (EPC) containing variable amounts of protein, oil, and antinutritional factors. In order to derive the maximum value from such products, their natural advantage as feed ingredients must be presented to the feed industry. Therefore, the objectives of this research are: 1) To develop a thorough nutrient profile of the CPC and EPC products in order to identify their best possible applications and to optimize nutrient utilization in formulating poultry and swine diets, 2) To use enzyme technology to facilitate nutrient (oil, amino acids, phosphorus) utilization, 3) To develop prediction equations for standardized ileal digestible amino acids and metabolisable energy contents for poultry and swine, and 4) To develop near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations for CPC, EPC and co-products. A comprehensive database on the chemical and nutritional profiles will be generated and used to promote the effective use of these important Canadian feed resources in animal nutrition. This would allow the inclusion of higher quality meals at higher rates in animal and poultry feeds. Such new developments would benefit Botaneco, the manufacturer of CPC, and would be in line with the mandate of SaskCanola, the industry partners on this project. The outcomes of this research would also facilitate more reliable use of NIRS, an asset to the industry partner Lumex Instruments Canada. As well, future application of enzymes, supplied by industry partner Canadian Bio-Systems, would reduce input costs for producers and nitrogen and phosphorus losses into the environment.