Rapeseed cultivation, for the production of rapeseed oil, has increased significantly in the Nordic countries in recent years and is well on its way to becoming a useful plant in Icelandic agriculture.
During cold-pressing of the oil from the rapeseed, the product is rapeseed flour (about 70% of the seed) which contains approx. 32% protein, 11% oil and fiber. The mortgage on this raw material is favorable and it is therefore interesting to see if it can be used in feed production. This product can only be used to a limited extent in feed for traditional domestic animals due to the negative effects of the relatively high content of unsaturated fat in the flour.
Previous research by Matís, Hólar University and Fóðurverksmiðjan Laxár, has shown that up to 33% rapeseed flour can be used in feed for char without affecting growth or feed utilization. As the market for salmon feed is much larger than for char feed, therefore interested in examining how rapeseed flour is suitable in feed for salmon.
Matís is therefore examining this in an aquaculture experiment at Verin in Sauðárkrókur in collaboration with Hólar University, Fóðurverksmiðjan Laxá and Emmelev Trading in Denmark, which is one of the largest producers of rapeseed meal in the Nordic countries.