Agronomic production of industrial hemp was relegalized in the United States in 2018, and the residual biomass of hemp may be useful as an alternative roughage source to cattle. Previous studies have used mostly in vitro methods to estimate the nutritional value of hemp to cattle, and data are still limited on how hemp variety and botanical parts influence estimates of the nutritional value of hemp. We hypothesized that in situ estimates of the nutritional value of hemp would differ across hemp variety and botanical parts. Indeed, in this study, there were many interactive effects of variety and botanical parts across measures of ruminal in situ nutrient disappearance. Yet, calculations of effective dry matter and neutral detergent fiber degradability were not affected by the interaction of variety and botanical parts. These data indicate the importance of considering hemp variety and botanical part (ie, leaf, stem, seed) when evaluating hemp as a feedstuff for cattle.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.