From Grass to Gains - Can Enzymes Improve Nutrient Utilization for Cattle on Forage-Based Diets?
Project Title
Enzyme Supplementation to Improve Nutrient Utilization in Forage-Based Diets
Researchers
Emma McGeough and Anna Rogiewicz [email protected]
KH Ominski, University of Manitoba G. Ribeiro,University of Saskatchewan K. Larson, University of Saskatchewan H. Derakshani, University of Manitoba M. Cordeiro, University of Manitoba
| Status | Project Code |
|---|---|
| In progress. Results expected in April, 2026 | POC.30.24 |
Background
Beef cattle are the ultimate upcyclers. They are able to take biproducts from other industries such as hulls and screenings and turn it into high quality protein. These products are not suitable for human production or biofuel production but can be low-cost feeds for cattle.
While cattle are able to use these products as is, they are often high in fibre, lower in quality, and poorly digestible. Enzymes may be able to improve the digestibility and quality of these feed products, but most of the enzyme work to date has been done on highly digestible, starch rich feed sources. This team wants to evaluate the use of enzymes in low quality, forage-based diets.
Objectives
- Utilize in vitro technology to evaluate novel exogenous enzyme on high fibre feed sources to assess their future potential to enhance their nutrient utilization in perennial forage-based beef production.
What they will do
The first study will use in vitro techniques to evaluate different enzymes effectiveness at breaking down fibrous components of feed. The team will use different high fibre byproducts and incubate them with different enzymes either individually or as a batch of enzymes preparations. The fibre component of the feeds will be evaluated before and after incubation to determine which enzymes or combination of enzymes were most effective at breaking down fibre.
Next they will use the best enzymes or combination of enzymes from the first trial to test if they can be used on perennial forage diets. They will incubate grasses and legumes with the best enzymes and evaluate if and how well they can break down fibre.
Implications
Increasing the amount of fibre that can be broken down in a diet can have many potential benefits to beef cattle. Cattle that are better able to digest fibre are more efficient meaning they gain more on less, they tend to perform better on low quality forages, and often have reduced methane emissions.
Finding an enzyme or combination of enzyme that can break down fiber in high forage diets is the first step to producing a feed additive that could be used in the cow-calf sector to improve cow efficiency