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Optimizing corn use by finishing cattle through wet corn milling by-products and corn processing
Abstract
Five finishing trials and an economic analysis were conducted to optimize corn use by feedlot cattle through corn processing and wet corn milling by-products. Data are available for feeding dry-rolled corn with by-products such as wet corn gluten feed (WCGF), steep liquor, corn bran, and germ meal to finishing cattle. However, limited data are available for feeding these by-products with more intensively processed corn. Our objectives were to determine the effects of by-products fed in finishing diets that contained corn that was processed more intensively than rolled corn, energy values of processed corn, and cost of processing. Processing corn in finishing diets that contained 25% WCGF (DM basis) improved calculated net energy for gain estimates for fine-ground (5.1%), rolled high-moisture (10.3%), ground high-moisture (10.9%), and steam-flaked corn (15.4%) compared to dry-rolled corn. Feeding WCGF at levels of 10, 20, 25, 30, and 35% (DM basis) in steam-flaked corn based diets did not affect average daily gain or feed efficiency compared to 0% inclusion of WCGF. Wet corn gluten feed is mostly a combination of steep liquor and corn bran. Higher ratios of steep to bran in WCGF increased feed efficiency when by-products were fed at 25% of diet DM in steam-flaked corn based diets. Drying corn bran did not affect its energy value. Feeding by-products with more intensively processed corn appears to be a viable option in feeding finishing cattle. To determine if this is the case, cost of processing corn more intensively must be know. Corn processing costs were estimated to be between $0.81 and $1.58 per t for dry rolling, $3.07 and $4.71 per t for ensiling high-moisture, and $6.23 and $9.57 per t for steam-flaking corn. Using these estimated costs, feeding WCGF with intensively processed corn can have economic benefits.
Subject Area
Livestock
Recommended Citation
Macken, Casey N, "Optimizing corn use by finishing cattle through wet corn milling by-products and corn processing" (2003). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI3116594.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI3116594