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Impact of Corn Processing Method on Finishing Cattle Performance when Fed with or without Distillers Byproducts
Abstract
A feedlot finishing study evaluated the effect of increasing inclusions of either wet (WDGS) or modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS) in steam-flaked corn (SFC) based diets (Exp 1). Two individually-fed studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding high-moisture corn (HMC), SFC, or a blend of the grains with or without MDGS (Exp 2 & 3). Lastly, a pooled analysis of previous research from the University of Nebraska was conducted to evaluate the effect of corn processing method, distillers grains types, oil removal from distillers, and dietary distillers concentration on cattle performance and total feeding costs under different historical price scenarios (Exp 4). In Exp 1, replacing SFC with either distillers byproduct resulted in increased dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG). However, feeding WDGS linearly improved feed efficiency (G:F), whereas feeding MDGS resulted in similar G:F as control-fed cattle. In Exp 2, cattle were fed 20% MDGS with blends of HMC and SFC which were denoted as: 0% SFC, 25% SFC, 50% SFC, 75% SFC, or 100% SFC, which represented the percent SFC of the total grain in the diet. Similarly, these 5 diets were utilized in Exp 3, along with 0% SFC control, 50% SFC control, and 100% SFC control in diets without distillers. In both Exp 2 and 3, cattle had greater G:F as SFC inclusion increased in the diets regardless of distillers inclusion. Additionally, a positive associative effect was observed in Exp 3 which resulted in a quadratic improvement in ADG in control diets as SFC inclusion increased. Exp 4 determined that SFC improved feed conversion, compared to dry-rolled corn (DRC), HMC, or blends of these two grains, regardless of distillers inclusion. Additionally, based on this study feeding distillers grains in finishing diets improved G:F and reduced cattle feeding costs, including lower supplemental protein costs and lower total feeding costs compared a diet without distillers.
Subject Area
Animal sciences
Recommended Citation
Troyer, Braden C, "Impact of Corn Processing Method on Finishing Cattle Performance when Fed with or without Distillers Byproducts" (2022). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI30000084.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI30000084