Specialist feeding selhozgodu Barry Yaremcio, Alberta, Canada, expressed his opinion on the use of poor rapeseed crop for cattle feed.

"With drought conditions in the Northern and southern parts of the province, late sowing and hail in others, part of the canola crop is of poor quality becomes a candidate for disposal, and, in principle, can be used for animal feed. On the one hand, this is a good option. Canola plants, in the stage of full flowering to early pod stage, can have the same nutritional value, and high quality hay first grade of alfalfa and grass. Cattle will readily eat green fodder or silage canola," he said Jarencio, adding that the cows may require two or three days to get used to it.

"Depending on the quality, rape or silage can be 100% of the daily diet. However, it is necessary to test feed", - said the expert.

There are two problems when feeding silage, canola or forage for: nitrate and sulfur and high oil content.

"Nitrates, in the main, represent a danger when the harvest vegetated arid conditions and was not able to process all of the applied fertilizer. High sulphur content of more than 0.4% of the total diet can cause cattle polio," he explained.

"The accumulation of nitrates occurs in the plant when it is damaged and not able to effectively convert the nitrate into protein after a shower of hail. Nitrates accumulate in the upper leaves of the plant, reaching a peak concentration after approximately four days after injury. If the plants recover and there is new growth, nitrate levels may return to normal after 12-14 days after the injury," said Barry Yaremcio.

Canola seeds can contain up to 42 percent oil, and rumen function of cattle is violated when the total content of the fat or oil in the diet exceeds seven percent.

Therefore, food from canola (rapeseed) should be tested for nitrates, sulphur and oil, and for the development of a diet based on the culture of the pastoralists it is better to consult a specialist.

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