Feeding hulless barley
A new variety of hulless barley, Falcon, is the next generation of Condor, a variety developed in Alberta.
David Hickling, director of feed technology with the Canadian International Grains Institute, has written two papers related to the subject. This information has been taken from his papers.
Hulless barley is a relatively new crop and feed ingredient in Canada. The hull is weakly attached to the seed kernel and is removed during harvest. The hull accounts for about 13 percent of the weight of the grain kernel and is composed mainly of fibre.
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Hulless barley has an energy value similar to wheat and corn and a similar protein content to wheat. However, it has a more valuable essential amino acid profile than wheat due to its much higher levels of lysine.
The equations used to predict amino acid levels from crude protein in covered barley can be used to predict levels in hulless barley. There is limited information on the digestibility of amino acids but it does appear to be slightly higher than regular barley.
Hulless barley has an advantage over covered barley in transportation and storage. Its 30 percent higher density increases the amount that can be shipped in a truck, rail car or ship, and the amount that can be put into a storage bin. Overall, it has similar handling, storage and transportation characteristics to wheat.
Another advantage of hulless barley is in nutrient digestibility. Higher dry matter and energy digestibility results in less manure production. Even though the hull of covered barley may only account for about five to eight percent of a complete feed, it will be concentrated several fold in the manure of swine and poultry.
It is important the amount of adhering hulls not be greater than 15 percent in order to meet grade standards for hulless barley.
This is needed for two reasons: The feed industry needs to purchase a consistent product and the energy content decreases with a greater amount of adhering hulls.
In least cost feed formulations, hulless barley can be priced up to $5 per tonne more than feed wheat and still be an economical ingredient.
An advantage of hulless barley over corn is found when comparing carcass quality. Pigs fed hulless barley have less carcass fat due to the lower oil content of the grain. The fat is harder and whiter due to a lack of yellow pigment. These are desirable qualities in some important consumer markets.
Hulless barley can be priced at a premium to wheat and corn and still be an economical ingredient in poultry feeds. Like regular barley, it contains beta-glucans which lead to decreased digestibility of all dietary nutrients and cause droppings to be wet and sticky.
When feeding any barley to young poultry it is recommended to supplement feed with a beta-glucanase enzyme. The beta-glucan levels in hulless barley are about 10 percent higher than in covered barley due to the concentration effect of removing the hull.
Broiler chickens fed hulless barley instead of corn have less abdominal fat and the fat is harder and whiter.
– Animal Industry Nutrition Update
Healthier Holsteins
A selective breeding program at the Ontario Veterinary College is aimed at providing healthier livestock through selective breeding. Preventative methods of health management, such as selection for superior immune response and disease resistance, are known to be more economical than treatment of disease.
To evaluate the potential of breeding disease-resistant cattle, the research will look at genetic markers of disease resistance, enhanced immune function and innate resistance. A novel combination of traditional and marker-assisted selection is being used.
Markers such as somatic cell counts alone may not be good selection criteria for reducing diseases such as mastitis, since they are indicators of infection, rather than resistance.
More than 1,500 Holstein cows from 100 commercial or research herds in Ontario are being screened for useful genetic and immunological markers of disease resistance.
– Agri-food Research in Ontario
