Hempseed meal as an effective protein supplement for finishing wethers

Abstract

To address the needs of an increasing global population and decreased availability of arable land due to the continued expansion of monoculture farms for the use of feeding livestock, it is necessary that we begin to research more sustainable methods for feeding animals, and the people who consume them. This study aims to address those needs by presenting hempseed meal (HSM) as a protein alternative to more commercially available feeds such as soybean meal commonly used in finishing rations on animal feeding operations (AFOs) across the United States. To complete this task, forty Western White-Faced wethers were used in a completely randomized block design with 5 treatments. These treatments included diets formulated to be near isonitrogenous with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% of diet DM as hemp seed meal, primarily as a substitute for soybean meal. Wethers were fed the diets individually for 90 d, which was followed by a 5 d balance trial with a total collection of urine and feces. There were no differences in DM intake (P = 0.44) or N digestibility (P = 0.467) between treatments, although there was a slight increase in P digestibility as hemp meal inclusion increased until it represented 15% of the dietary DM (P = 0.047). There were no differences in urinary N excretion (P = 0.33) or urinary urea excretion (P = 0.34) between treatments.