Canola Meal Increases Dairy Production, Study Finds
Canadian Canola Meal Feed to Chinese Dairy Cattle Increases Milk Quantity
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Canadian canola received a big boost from a year-long study that found canola meal fed to dairy cattle in China significantly increases milk production.
The joint study conducted by the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) and Chinese researchers confirmed that canola meal increases daily milk production by .6 kilograms per cow. The research project was conducted at five of China’s largest dairy farms. Feeding canola meal to dairy cattle isn’t new; in fact previous studies conducted over the past 30-years have also found that milk production increased when feeding canola meal.
For years, Chinese dairies have tried to raise milk quality and quantity, without increasing feed input costs. Canadian canola may be the most cost effective solution for Chinese dairy farmers.
Canola, hailed as Canada’s top crop, is the biggest agricultural export commodity to China. Sales of canola seed, oil and meal to China is worth $3.1-billion to the Canadian economy.