Hemp-Cereal Silage
PCDF, Manitoba Horticulture Productivity Enhancement Centre (MHPEC)
To evaluate intercrop mixes with hemp for silage production.
Please see the attached report.
Silage plays an important part in the Manitoba livestock industry. Corn silage provides high yields, relative to barley silage (14 t/ac, over 7.5 t/ac, 2021 Silage Cost of Production, MARD). In the Parkland area, the yield for corn silage is variable and many producers opt to produce a cereal silage, such as barley or oat. PCDF and MHPEC have worked together to explore intercropping options for cereals silage.
Hemp provides an interesting opportunity for silage production, due to its high production potential and good nutritional qualities. However, Canadian regulations currently prohibit the use of hemp products as a livestock feed ingredients in Canada. As such, this research is purely exploratory, and is not intended to provide recommendations to producers. The Manitoba Diversification Centres are working with the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance to develop data in support of changes to regulations around the use of hemp in livestock feed.