| | On August 15th, 2006, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development's Ag Research Division is holding a field day in the Barrhead/Westlock area to look at the results from the final year of a number of research projects with zero tannin faba bean and lupin. The field day will include information on background for these two crops, the current situation, the opportunities and the next steps.
"Zero tannin faba bean and lupin belong to a group of crops collectively known as pulse," says Mark Olson, provincial pulse industry development specialist, with Alberta Agriculture, Edmonton. "The word 'pulse' is derived from Latin puls or pultis, a thick soup. It is the broad term used to describe the dried, edible seeds of annual legumes. Legume crops have the unique ability to fix their own nutrient requirement for nitrogen from the air, thus, substantially reducing the crops' requirement for manufactured fertilizer."
Zero tannin faba bean, as the name implies, has a lower level of tannins (approximately 1.0 per cent or less) in the seed. Tannins are phenolic compounds of plant origin and give the seed an astringent, bitter taste. Tannins have the ability to precipitate proteins resulting in the inactivation of gut enzymes, giving tannins their anti-nutritional role. In monogastric species, such as hogs and poultry, tannin-containing seed will cause feed consumption and palatability issues, affect digestion and increase days to market.
"The areas of the province that these two crops will most likely be adapted to are the Parkland and lower Peace regions," adds Olson. "Both zero tannin faba bean and lupin yield poorly under drier environmental conditions, and for this reason will not be an economically viable crop option in the thin black, brown and dark brown soil zones.
"In the irrigated areas of Alberta, competition from crops with higher returns, such as sugar beet, potato, dry bean, sweet pea and sweet corn, will make it financially difficult for farmers to place zero tannin faba bean and lupin in the crop rotation. As well, lupin plant growth is limited by soils with a pH above 7.0. Most of the soils in brown and dark brown zones are well above that pH level."
Western Canada's livestock feed industry is continually searching for alternative sources of protein to add to ration formulation. Alberta's feeding industry is turning to vegetable proteins. Lupin and zero-tannin faba bean are high in protein and energy (35 to 44 per cent and 28 to 32 per cent protein respectively), and have shown exciting production performance in agronomic trails, indicating that Alberta could supply its own protein needs.
Another avenues of opportunity for these two crops:
- Aquaculture or fish farming - currently, 30 to 40 per cent of the fish at local grocery stores is farmed fish. The industry is replacing some of the fishmeal in fish diets with plant-based protein. Soy meal and canola are the current options, but they have less than desirable nutritional qualities, and have to be imported. Lupin has exceptional qualities for fish feed including higher protein content, low levels of anti-nutritional factors (phytic acid, saponins, lectins and trypsin inhibitors), higher phosphorous digestibility and retention, and valuable pelleting qualities.
- Hog feed industry - feed is the biggest input cost in raising hogs. Currently the protein needs of the hog industry are being met through imported soy meal. Zero tannin faba bean, grown locally, could drastically reduce the processing and transporting costs and increase the competitiveness of the Alberta hog industry.
- Human consumption - some initial investigations into the possibility of faba bean starch as an ingredient for the Asian noodle market is being done. Pulse crops have proven hypocholesterolemic effects, which implies a potential use in the nutraceutical and functional food industry as a weapon against cardiovascular diseases.
- Cosmetic industry - the fatty acid profile of lupin seed has excellent emollient properties for the cosmetic industry and an Alberta company is ready to contract lupin acreage immediately.
- Apiculture or beekeeping - fractionated legumes are being investigated for protein and starch concentrates. The apiculture industry is one example where the soybean protein concentrate in the patties could be replaced by a domestically grown protein supply to overwinter honeybees.
"Developing lupin and zero-tannin faba bean production systems could make Alberta self-sufficient in terms of protein," says Ken Lopetinsky, pulse research agronomist with Alberta Agriculture's Ag Research Division, Barrhead. "Now that multiple demands and market opportunities have been identified, best management practices discovered through preliminary investigations must be advanced to the entire pulse industry to ensure a reliable, high quality lupin and faba bean supply for end users."
The next steps, funding agencies, the importance and value of research and the lack of an Alberta facility for dehulling to add value to lupin are some of the topics that will be discussed at the Zero Tannin Faba Bean and Lupin Field Day on August 15, 2006.
For further information about the field day, contact Olson or Lopetinsky. The cost of registration is $20 and the deadline for registration is August 11, 2006. To register, contact Deborah Heidt toll-free at 1-800-387-6030.
Contact:
Mark Olson
(780) 422-3825
Ken Lopetinsky
(780) 674-8214 |
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