Animal producers and canola growers stand to benefit from Dow AgroSciences’ new advanced canola meal, announced recently at the Canola Council of Canada’s 49th Annual Convention in San Diego. ProPound™ advanced canola meal is an innovative, cost-effective replacement for soybean meal in poultry and swine diets, helping to expand markets for canola.
ProPound was developed through years of research and conventional plant breeding to maximize the protein content and digestibility of canola meal. This process led to the creation of an advanced canola meal that offers protein content of about 44 percent, comparable to soybean meal and a significant improvement over conventional canola meal’s protein content of about 37 percent. The improved quality profile and nutritional benefits of ProPound will significantly increase the inclusion rate potential in monogastric animal diets.
“Our focus is on helping customers succeed and advancing agriculture. ProPound is an excellent example of a value-added trait that can help animal producers gain a more cost effective protein source,” said Tim Hassinger, President and CEO, Dow AgroSciences.
“ProPound, with the higher protein and lower fibre content, gives swine and poultry producers a new, cost-effective alternative to soybean meal, without sacrificing animal performance,” says David Dzisiak, Commercial Leader for Grains & Oils at Dow AgroSciences. “It really offers immediate cost savings by reducing swine and poultry feed rations for producers.”
The Canola Council of Canada’s latest strategic plan forecasts canola production to increase by 50 percent by 2025 along with continued expansion of the processing industry. Improved canola meal quality is good news for canola growers as they need expanding and sustainable markets for their canola. An advanced, cost-effective, high-quality protein option for the feed industry serves to open new markets and future demand for canola. ProPound will be incorporated into all NexeraTM canola hybrids in the coming years.
“ProPound represents a step change in the quality of canola meal,” says Dave Hickling, former Canola Council of Canada VP and third-party consultant to Dow AgroSciences. “It will take canola meal from being a moderately used ingredient in swine and poultry feeds up to an ingredient that is very widely used at high inclusion levels. That’s what’s needed to develop canola meal into a truly competitive substitute to soybean meal.”
ProPound will be available to swine and turkey producers this fall on a limited basis. New Roundup Ready® and Clearfield® Nexera™ hybrids with ProPound will become available in 2017 to support supply expansion.