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ARS Home » Plains Area » El Reno, Oklahoma » Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center » Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #433180
Research Project: Integrated Research to Enhance Forage and Food Production from Southern Great Plains Agroecosystems

Location: Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit

Title: DDG cube supplementation and implant management for ranch intensification in rangelands of Western Oklahoma

Author
item BECK, PAUL - Oklahoma State University
item GRIGSBY, ZANE - Oklahoma State University
item Gunter, Stacey
item Moffet, Corey

Submitted to: Mendeley Data
Publication Type: Database / Dataset
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/11/2026
Publication Date: 3/11/2026
Citation: Beck, P., Grigsby, Z., Gunter, S.A., Moffet, C. 2026. DDG cube supplementation and implant management for ranch intensification in rangelands of Western Oklahoma. Mendeley Data. https://doi.org/10.17632/vjhrc6csny.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17632/vjhrc6csny.1

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Our objectives for this experiment was to determine the response curve of increasing supplementation rate for animal performance, supplemental efficiency, and nitrogen excretion by steers grazing midgrass prairie in western Oklahoma. A 2-year trial was conducted at the Marvin Klemme Range Research Station (Klemme) and the USDA-ARS Southern Plains Experimental Range (SPER) in western Oklahoma. At Klemme, steers (n = 133 Yr 1, BW = 247 ± 24.5 kg; Yr 2, n = 134, BW = 264 ± 29.1 kg) were allocated to 6 pastures in Yr 1 and 7 pastures in Yr 2 which were assigned to three daily supplementation rates of distillers grains cubes: 1) Negative Control (NC)- no supplementation; 2) Low Supplement (LS) - 0.91 kg/steer and 3) Medium Supplementation (MS) – 1.82 kg/steer. At Klemme, steers were stocked at 2.0 ha/steer in yr 1 and 2.8 ha/steer in yr 2. At SPER steers (n=119 each year; Yr 1, BW = 295 ± 28.8 kg; Yr 2, BW = 294 ± 25.7 kg) were allocated to 12 pastures stocked at 2.0 ha/steer with pastures assigned to: 1) NC; 2) LS; 3) MS and 4) High Supplement (HS) – daily supplementation rate of 2.72 kg/steer. Data were analyzed by year and experimental site as a completely randomized design. Least-squares means were separated using orthogonal polynomial contrasts. In both years at Klemme, increased supplementation rate resulted in a linearly (P = 0.01) increase in ADG, but no difference (P = 0.16) in supplemental efficiency. At SPER, ADG increased linearly (P < 0.01) in Yr 1, but quadratically (P = 0.05) in Yr 2; in both years, supplemental efficiency displayed a quadratic response (P = 0.01) , decreasing at a decisioning rate. These data suggest that supplementing extruded DDGS cube to steers grazing native range is a viable option to intensify production on stocker operations. If forage value is adequate to support BW gains increased supplementation rates are likely not economically efficient, however if forage is limiting improved performance may be adequate for positive economic returns. The response curves observed in this research will allow producers to make supplementation decisions based on market conditions.