November 12, 2020

Dairy farmers in Scotland encouraged to use soy alternatives for feed following new trial

Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) trialled alternative proteins on three Scottish dairy farms, and found that that there was not much change in milk output or milk composition after soy was removed from the dairy cows' diet, Press and Journal UK reported.

SRUC analysed the use of alternative proteins such as rapemeal and distillers' wheat dark grains.

Lorna MacPherson, a dairy consultant with SAC Consulting, which is part of SRUC, said the alternative proteins were developed to match the levels of protein, bypass protein and energy content as soy-based blends.

However, MacPherson said while rapemeal is cheaper per tonne, farmers need to feed more alternative proteins to match the same protein content as soy. This could mean less space for storage.

-      Press and Journal UK