SOY ALTERNATIVES ▶▶▶


The potential of lupins as a soy alternative


Examining the potential for this high-protein crop to replace soybean meal in the ration of various livestock species


BY TREENA HEIN, CORRESPONDENT S Feed


Lupins Barley Wheat Corn


Dried tapioca soybean meal Peas


Beans Source: Aegic 18 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 7, 2021


oybean meal (SBM) is currently the most common protein component in compound feed for pigs, poul- try and dairy cattle in Europe and many other re- gions around the the globe. However, because the


price of SBM fluctuates and because soybean production in some parts of the world involves significant sustainability concerns, there is active investigation of crops that can serve as full or partial replacements. In a report on the ‘Use of Lupin as a Source of Protein in Ani- mal Feeding: Genomic Tools and Breeding Approaches’, scien- tists based in Greece note that lupin “could be a realistic sus- tainable alternative source of protein for animal feeding.” Indeed, for centuries lupins (a pulse crop) have been grown for feed and food in many areas of the world, mainly the Mediterranean and some parts of South America. Although there are many species, the main ones now cultivated are Lu- pinus albus (white flower), L. angustifolius (blue) and L. luteus (yellow). Almost all lupin is grown for feed. For hundreds of years, farmers have found lupins useful in grain crop rotation


Table 1 – Lupins grains are an exceptional ruminant feed, with high protein and hing ener gy contents.


Crude protein (% DM)


34.5 12.2 12.9 9.3 3


48 25


28.8


Starch (% DM) 3.1


56.8 66.9 72.5 73


2.7


46.3 38.3


NDF


(% DM) 25.9 20


13.1 10.7 11.8 13.4 16.4 18


Metab. Energy (MJ ME/kg DM) 13.8 12.8 13.3 13.5 12.3 12.1 13.3 13.2


to control weeds and pests and improve soil fertility and crop yields through their ability to fix nitrogen, according to Dr Steve Little in a 2021 report for the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre. In Australia, lupins also break up the hard pan in the soil profile caused by tillage. The state of Western Australia accounts for more than 72% of global lupin produc- tion. Other regions and countries with considerable lupin acreage are Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, probably Russia (difficult to confirm), Chile and Canada. Duncan Rowland, Executive Officer at the Stock Feed Manu- facturers’ Council of Australia, notes that lupins have been used in livestock feed there for many years, mainly for dairy cattle but also for beef cattle and pigs. Dairy farmers and farm- ers with small beef feedlots grow their own lupin. Lupins are also used in Australia in horse feed, says Rowland, mostly as a micronised high-value bagged product. Lupins can also serve as a pasture supplement for sheep in Australia. Rowland adds that many problems with anthracnose disease about 20 years ago caused a decrease in lupin acreage in Australia, but breed- ing for resistance has enabled acreage to rise again. These an- thracnose problems in the late 1990s/early 2000s also caused some shifts in the cultivation of varieties in Europe. Generally, lupins grains are characterised by high protein content with a low amount of high-quality oil (Table 1). They also contain some anti-nutritional compounds such as alka- loids,oligosaccharides, protease inhibitors, tannins and sapo- nins. However, much breeding progress has been made to re- duce these compounds in the grain, so much so that lupins are now being examined on a small scale as a serious plant- based protein ingredient for vegan food products. In Canada, an L. albus variety called Dieta and an L. angustifolius variety called Boregine (both developed in Europe) have been regis- tered by a company called Koralta Agri-Business. In 2021, it contracted growers to plant the crop in Manitoba and Sas- katchewan, and it aims to cultivate about 40,000 acres in Western Canada by 2023. Dieta will initially be marketed for food and feed in the Middle East, while Boregine will initially be grown primarily for the feed market in Asia.


Dairy cows Lupins are used extensively in the Australian dairy industry. Little notes that Australian varieties of L. angustifolius are highly suitable for ruminants, with their high digestibility


PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK


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