Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Livestock Nutrient Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #193764

Title: RECENT RESEARCH WITH DISTILLER'S GRAINS AND CORN MILLING BYPRODUCTS - SOUTHERN PLAINS

Author
item Cole, Noel
item GALYEAN, M. - TEXAS TECH UNIV
item DROUILLARD, J. - KANSAS STATE UNIV
item GREENE, L. - TX AG EXPER STATION
item MCCOLLUM, F. - TX COOP EXTENSION
item DEFOOR, P. - NEW MEXICO STATE UNIV
item RICHARDSON, C. - TEXAS TECH UNIV

Submitted to: Proceeding of Plains Nutrition Council Symposium
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2006
Publication Date: 4/6/2006
Citation: Cole, N.A., Galyean, M.L., Drouillard, J., Greene, L.W., McCollum, F.T., Defoor, P.J., Richardson, C.R. 2006. Recent research with distiller's grains and corn milling byproducts - Southern Plains. In: Proceeding of Spring Conference of Plains Nutrition Council, April 6-7, 2006, San Antonio, Texas. p. 24-39.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The bioethanol industry (a dry corn milling process) has grown rapidly over the past 10 years. A major byproduct of ethanol production is distiller' grains. To date, most of the new ethanol plants have been constructed in the Corn Belt and Midwest; however, new mills are planned and being constructed in the Southern Great Plains. Many of these new plants may use grain sorghum as the starch source. Much of the research on the feeding of distiller's grains and other corn milling byproducts has been conducted in the Northern Great Plains. Feedlot diets in the Northern Plains tend to differ from those fed in the Southern Plains: corn is generally dry rolled rather than steam flaked; and the roughage source tends to be silage rather than alfalfa or cotton byproducts. Feedyards in the Southern Plains also tend to be larger than those in the Northern Plains; thus, management of byproducts, especially wet byproducts, may differ. Environmental issues also tend to differ between the Northern and Southern Great Plains. Much of the Northern Plains and Corn Belt are grain-exporting regions; whereas, the Southern Plains is a grain-importing area. Because of this, the high P concentrations in many byproducts are less of a concern in the Northern Great Plains than in the Southern Great Plains. Corn gluten feed (CGF) is a wet corn milling byproduct. Over the last several years many feedyards in the Southern Plains have been using Sweet Bran, a CGF manufactured by Cargill Inc. as an energy and protein source, replacing a portion of the steam-flaked corn and supplemental protein in growing and finishing diets. Replacement of highly digestible steam-flaked corn with these corn milling byproduct ingredients could affect animal performance. In addition, the high ruminal undegradable protein, P and S concentrations of these byproducts could have environmental consequences. Thanks to the National Grain Sorghum Producers (now National Sorghum Producers) in Lubbock, TX, in 2002 the Consortium for Cattle Feeding and Environmental Science received funding to conduct cooperative research studies on the feeding of distiller's grains, especially those based on sorghum grain. This review will summarize results from four studies partially funded by this project (three cattle feeding studies conducted with sorghum-based and corn-based distiller's grains, one dairy calf feeding study with sorghum-based distiller's grains), as well as one additional cattle feeding study with corn gluten feed partially funded by Cargill. In all trials, the basal diet was based on steam-flaked corn.