Canola Meal as Livestock Feed

Canola meal, in some markets, is beginning to outpace soybeans as livestock feed. Once canola seed is crushed, the remaining "meal" is prized as a high quality livestock feed. The meal is widely used as a component in hog, poultry and cattle rations. Most recently, canola meal has taken almost 50 percent of the market share for dairy operations in Washington, Oregon and California.

Studies have shown that using canola meal instead of soybean or cottonseed meal resulted in 2.2 pounds per day more milk production from every cow fed the canola meal. (See Table 1.) (The Washington, Oregon and California dairy market is 50 percent of total U. S. production). Canola meal (and its close relative rapeseed meal) has become the second most widely traded protein ingredient - surpassed only by soybean meal.

Photo courtesy of the Canola Council