Industrial hemp in animal feed applications

The most common protein sources in livestock nutrition are soybean meal, canola meal, or fish meal. These conventional sources are no longer sustainable and their utilization will be further limited by increasing prices, so that new and sustainable protein sources for animal feeds are required. One of the alternatives may be industrial hemp. This chapter discusses the applicability of industrial hemp for animal feed in terms of the content of basic nutrients, bioactive substances, and anti-nutritional factors. It also discusses the necessary processing technologies for the conversion of industrial hemp into animal feed. Finally, the results of several studies using industrial hemp or hemp by-products in animal nutrition are discussed. According to many studies, industrial hempseeds or by-products supplementation could be a good feeding strategy in ruminant animals to improve the nutrients (lactose, fatty acids) in milk and dairy products. On the contrary, for poultry nutrition, to inclusion of the extract of the bioactive substances (cannabidiol) or hemp oil in diets appeared to be more appropriate than addition of expellers or other forms of hemp processing side streams. It was observed that cats can absorb or eliminate cannabidiol differently than dogs. It seems cannabidiol-rich products appear to be safe in healthy dogs, while more trials with cats are needed to fully understand cannabinoids’ benefits and mechanism of absorption.