Egg farmers in the Northeast face tight margins, volatile feed costs, and increasing pressure to reduce environmental impacts. Soybean meal is a dominant protein source in poultry feed which can be expensive and resource‑intensive. A recently completed Northeast SARE project evaluated hempseed meal and defatted microalgae, two nutrient‑dense byproducts, as alternative feed ingredients for laying hens. Researchers tested diets containing hempseed meal alone, microalgae alone, and a combination of both to assess effects on hen health, egg production, egg nutrition (especially omega‑3 fatty acids), and manure emissions.
The project was led by graduate student Keith Ou at Cornell University, under the guidance of faculty advisor Dr. Xingen Lei, an expert in poultry nutrition and sustainable feed systems. Together with Cornell research staff and students, the team conducted controlled feeding trials and extensive outreach to farmers and industry stakeholders across the Northeast.
Ou and team explored whether agricultural byproducts, hempseed meal and microalgae, could help egg farmers produce more nutritious, climate‑friendly eggs while maintaining bird health and productivity. The team found that hempseed meal significantly increased omega‑3 DHA levels in eggs without reducing egg production, helping support the approval of hempseed meal in laying hen diets.
By repurposing agricultural byproducts into poultry feed, this project supports circular economy principles, reduces reliance on conventional feed crops, and improves the economic resilience of small and mid‑scale egg farms. The findings also laid the groundwork for follow‑up grants and expanded research on hemp byproducts across livestock systems in the Northeast.
[as] the global population continues to grow in future decades, the demand for animal-sourced proteins, particularly poultry products like chicken meat and eggs that are nutritious, affordable, and sustainable, will continue to increase. Currently, commercial poultry production is resource-intensive, requiring a significant amount of corn and soybean meal in feed, which may exacerbate the food-feed competition and food security concerns.
Substituting soybean meal with alternative feed proteins like hempseed meal and microalgae investigated in this study could promote the use of byproducts from other agricultural sectors and therefore contributing towards circular economy and sustainable agriculture. Since the start of this project, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has officially approved the use of hempseed meal in laying hen feed at no more than 20% due to growing evidence confirming the safety of this novel ingredient. The approved use may open the untapped potential of this byproduct from hemp oil production in animal agriculture.