A Saskatoon-based company hopes to take canola into higher-value feed markets.
MCN Canola Products Inc. received $250,000 from Ag-West Biotech Inc., Saskatchewan Agriculture and Canodev Research Inc. to perform pilot scale testing of its fractionation process. It extracts protein from canola to make it more effective as a feed.
“The main objective is to add value to canola meal,” said Hank Classen, co-founder of MCN, along with David Maenz and Rex Newkirk.
Canola meal is high in protein and fed to a wide range of species, but MCN plans to take the basic meal and make it more suited for specific animals and their digestive needs.
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Classen said increasing the nutrition value would be reflected in the price of the product. He said soybean meal is traditionally regarded as the top protein concentrate.
“But if you compare the two, canola meal is about 75 percent of the level of protein of soy and frequently its price is 60 percent or even less of the price of soybean meal. This suggests the value is not as high as it should be based on some of its nutritional characteristics,” said Classen.
Gordon Nystuen, deputy minister of Saskatchewan Agriculture, said: “(MCN) believes we can improve a product that we’re already growing and they have identified a market that’s already growing in farm-fed fish.
“We’re already producing an awful lot of canola. Our main product is oil. If we can develop markets for the meal, we believe that has some very long-term positive implications for the canola production industry,” said Nystuen.
Peter McCann, president of Ag-West Biotech, said the World Health Organization predicts an increase in the demand for canola meal by about 136 million tonnes a year for the next 10 years.
McCann’s company and Saskat-chewan Agriculture each contributed $100,000 to the project. Canodev Research invested $50,000.
“MCN’s research will benefit the general economy of the province of Saskatchewan, creating high-tech, well paying jobs in our thriving biotech industry, as well as a tremendous opportunity for Saskatchewan to get in on the market for these feeds,” said McCann.
