Animal scientists are researching the benefits of feeding hemp to cows.
Disrupting the feed industry
With their four-part digestive system perfect for breaking down fibrous plant material, ruminant animals consume many inedible plant byproducts leftover from other industries. Dairy cattle alone divert from landfills up to 306 million pounds of food waste a day, as reported by the Daily Churn.
Industry experts, including Hunter Buffington, executive director of the Colorado-based Hemp Feed Coalition (HFC), believe that a growing U.S. hemp sector will soon produce enough byproducts to support a hemp livestock feed industry and disrupt the $27.8 billion global feed market.
Kleinhenz has already conducted two studies looking at the effects of feeding hemp biomass — the leftover leaves, stems and flowers — on cattle. With the new USDA grant, he will study whether cannabinoids are detectable in meat and milk products after hemp is fed.
