Feeding value of crambe press cake and extracted meal as well as production responses of growing-finishing pigs and dairy cows fed these by-products

Abstract

To analyse the feeding value of crambe press cake (CPC) and crambe extracted meal (CEM), and the incorporation limits in pig diets, a series of balance trials with a total of 12 male castrates was conducted. Additionally, in a feeding trial the effect of 5 % and 10 % CPC or CEM on growth performance and on pork quality was tested. The CP content of CPC and CEM was 207 and 331 g/kg DM, respectively, and the residual EE 144 and 26 g/kg DM, respectively. The erucic acid concentration amounted to 56 % of total fatty acids. Glucosinolate contents were found to be 50 mmol/kg CPC-DM and 70 mmol/kg CEM-DM. The digestibility of OM was 54 % for both by-products and the ME contents were 10.6 and 9.3 MJ/kg DM for CPC and CEM, respectively. In the feeding trial, 10 % CPC in the diet significantly decreased BWG from 782 g/d (controls) to 742 g/d. Due to glucosinolate intake, the weight of liver, thyroid glands and kidneys was significantly increased. The body fat showed an increased deposition of erucic acid in back fat and intramuscular fat, but changes in sensory properties of the meat were not detected. It is recommended that the incorporation rate of CPC and CEM in diets for growing-finishing pigs should not exceed 5 %. The balance experiments, carried out with four wethers each, showed that the OM of CPC and CEM was better digested by ruminants, amounting to 71% or 67%, respectively. The energy content amounted to 7.4 and 6.0 MJ NEL/ kg DM, respectively. In the feeding trials with lactating cows, 30 % CPC or CEM in the concentrate resulted in a decrease of concentrate intake of about 7%. Due to the high residual fat content of CPC, the milk fat content decreased and the erucic acid content increased. The high glucosinolate intake affected the iodine concentration in the milk. CPC and CEM feeding decreased the iodine content from 271 – 117 μg/kg and from 182 – 77 μg, respectively. It is recommended that crambe by-products should not exceed 15 % in concentrates or an intake of 1 kg/d for dairy cows.