Hemp by-products are a good alternative for feeding lambs.

Um study from Oregon State University found that hemp biomass – the main by-product of the cannabinoid extraction process from hemp – can be included in the diet of lambs without harmful effects on the animals' health or meat quality. These are significant discoveries for the hemp industry, because according to the researchers, the hemp waste used was left over from the extraction activity, thus being a raw material with little applicability.

The results were recently published in Journal of Animal Science. In the study, Oregon researchers fed 35 male lambs two different amounts of hemp biomass (10% and 20% of the total ration) and then removed the hemp biomass for four weeks, creating a grace period. Then, they evaluated the weight gain, carcass characteristics of the animal, meat quality and health parameters of the lambs.

The study's findings demonstrate that the nutritional quality of hemp biomass after cannabinoid extraction is on par with alfalfa, which is commonly fed to lambs and has lower palatability and better digestibility. Feed intake was negatively affected by feeding with 20% hemp biomass in the short term but not in the long term, while feeding with 10% hemp biomass increased feed intake in the long term. Despite this, no effects were observed on the weight of lambs.

“With the exception of an increase in cooking shrinkage loss, which can also affect how tender the meat is, other parameters related to carcass and meat quality were not affected by the hemp biomass feed. Hemp biomass affected metabolism in a way that did not seem harmful and improved the animals' antioxidant capacity. The animals' liver was not affected, but a decrease in hepatic clearance, the liver's ability to extract or metabolize a drug, was observed. The authors indicated that this finding requires further investigation, as it may affect the metabolism of other substances that can be administered to lambs.

“Although more research is still needed, hemp biomass can be considered a safe feed for ruminants and a good alternative to alfalfa for livestock, especially if it has an economic benefit,” said Serkan Ates, one of the researchers.

FDA still hasn't legalized hemp for animal feed in the US
However, hemp biomass has not been legalized as a livestock feed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to the potential presence of THC and its potential impacts on animal health. Thus, the study represents, for the authors, a step towards obtaining this approval.

“To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to assess the effects of feeding hemp biomass to livestock,” said Serkan Ates, associate professor at the Oregon State College of Agricultural Sciences. “The findings are important for both hemp growers and livestock producers as they provide evidence that this hemp by-product can be used in the diet of livestock.

If the FDA approves its use as animal feed, hemp farmers could have a market for what is essentially a waste product and livestock producers could save money by supplementing their feed with the used hemp biomass.”

According to the US Department of Agriculture, in recent years, after hemp was legalized as an agricultural commodity, its cultivation grew. In 2021, nearly 22 hectares of hemp were planted in the United States with a total harvest value of US$824 million. Hemp is a highly versatile crop that can be used in textiles, food, paper and building materials, but until recently it was predominantly grown for CBD oil, which is extracted from the flowers and leaves of the hemp plant. According to the 2020 US Department of Agriculture acreage data, 62% of cultivated hemp was grown for CBD extraction.