NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

February 11, 1999

Field Pea Effective in Lamb Feeding Trials

Field pea proved to be a palatable and effective ingredient in finishing diets for lambs in feeding trials conducted by North Dakota State University.

According to Marc Bauer, assistant professor of animal and range sciences, the feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the energy content of field peas as a feed for lambs. Previous NDSU experiments substituted field peas for barley and soybean meal in diets for calves and lambs. Bauer says producers are more likely to use field pea in this manner as a protein source, but his trial used peas as a substitute for corn to evaluate them as an energy source.

Results of the trial were presented by Erik Loe, graduate research assistant, at the Hettinger Research Extension Center's annual Sheep Day program.

Field pea has grown in popularity as an alternative crop in North Dakota, increasing from about 14,500 acres in 1994 to almost 103,000 acres in 1997. Field pea is marketed as a dry, shelled product for either human consumption or livestock feed. Increased acreage in the state suggests that increasing amounts of lower quality field peas that can't be marketed for human consumption will be available for livestock feed.

In the NDSU trial, the base ration contained corn as 75 percent of the total diet. Experimental diets substituted field peas for corn at rates of 15, 30 and 45 percent of the total diet.

Crude protein in the diets increased from 15 percent with straight corn to over 21 percent with the diet containing 45 percent field peas. Bauer points out that this protein level is higher than necessary and probably would not be economical unless the price of field peas was very low. In most cases using field peas as a substitute for protein supplement would be more practical.

As observed in earlier trials, indicating feed intake increased as peas were added to the diet, the lambs found the rolled field peas very palatable. Daily gain and feed efficiency with the field pea diets were equal or superior to the corn diet.

Carcass characteristics of lambs slaughtered at the end of the trial were basically the same for all diets.

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Source: Marc Bauer (701) 231-7691

Editor: Gary Moran (701) 231-7865