Glossary > Feed Ingredients > SUNFLOWER MEAL

Sunflower Meal: The composition of the oil meal varies with the quality of the original seed and the method of processing. A wide variety of products are available on the market, ranging from low-quality strawlike meals to high-quality flours.

The use of high-fibre sunflowerseed oilcakes is restricted to the feeding of adult ruminants, whereas the decorticated cake is a digestible high-protein feed that can be used freely in balanced mixtures for all livestock.

As the cakes are hard, they are best fed ground and incorporated in compounds.

Meals with a high fat content tend to produce soft pork if fed in large amounts. If limited to about one third of the protein supplement, the meal gives good results in pigs, especially those weighing over 45 kg.

The oilcake does not keep well. Supplementary lysine will be necessary if large amounts are to be fed to nonruminants, and for poultry a rich source of energy has to be added.