Author
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Aiken, Glen |
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Submitted to: Cow Country News
Publication Type: Popular Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2016 Publication Date: 3/1/2016 Citation: Aiken, G.E. 2016. From the Lab Bench: Know your alternative feed. Cow Country News. Pgs. 52-53. Interpretive Summary: Alternative feeds are by- or co-products from distillation, fermentation, or food/concentrate milling processes that serve as alternatives to concentrate feeds. So why do you feed it to cattle? There are times of the year when cattle need to be supplemented with nutrients that are not sufficient in pasture forage or hay. Either concentrate or alternative feeds are the choices for supplementing energy and protein, but co-product, alternative feeds generally offer a cheaper source of nutrients than mixtures of concentrates. Oftentimes, an alternative feed is chosen because it is free and convenient; your farm may be close to a distiller as a source of wet distiller’s grains, or possibly a commercial bakery is nearby and provides a source of bakery waste. You might purchase bulk quantities of soybean hulls, corn gluten, dried distiller’s grain or cottonseed hulls from the feed store. These have a greater cost than the wet by-product feeds, but are typically much lower than the concentrate feeds. The problem that can arise with feeding alternative feeds to beef cattle is that the producer may not know the nutrient composition of the feed. The main point is that you should understand if the alternative feed is fortifying energy, crude protein or both in your cattle’s diets. Furthermore, an understanding of the nutritive value of the alternative feed is needed to make sound decisions on daily amounts to feed. Technical Abstract: A column was written to discuss the need to know the nutritive value of the alternative feed (by- or co-product feeds) that you are feeding to your cattle. Alternative feeds can come in different physical forms: being either wet or dry, finely ground, crumbly or pelleted. Distiller’s and brewer’s grains, and corn gluten can be wet or dry. The wet feed is the cheapest, but storage and spoilage can be issues. Drying of these feeds add a cost, but bulk storage and potential spoilage is much less of a problem. It is obvious there is added cost associated with the processing of alternative feeds. The cost of pelleting the dried and sometimes ground alternative feeds reduce dust and justify the added cost. The goal when feeding supplemented nutrients is to meet the nutrient needs of your cattle, so it is important that the nutrient composition of your feed is known. The main point is that you should understand if the alternative feed is fortifying energy, crude protein or both in your cattle’s diets. Furthermore, an understanding of the nutritive value of the alternative feed is needed to make sound decisions on daily amounts to feed; otherwise, you could see the body condition of your cattle go in a negative direction. |
