Distillers Grain mix

[Col Reb]

I've never used dried distillers grain before. With range meal & cubes in the $360-$400 range per ton by the sack, I've acquired a feeder to leave out free range for cows, bulls, & calves regulating intake by letting them in to feed free range for a couple of days then taking them off for a few days until they get regulated to it. I was thinking doing 40%salt, 50%DDG, 10% corn. I was wondering if there is a benefit to adding corn to the mix since the DDG is from corn, anyway. A little feedback would be appreciated from any that have made a range meal with DDG.

 

[Lucky_P]

No takers, eh?

We only ever limit-fed DDG, to supplement hay...never a free-choice mix.
Yes DDG is from corn, but for all intents & purposes, all the carbohydrates have been removed during the fermentation process as starches were converted to alcohol... it's primarily a protein supplement, not an energy source... .

Without knowing what else your cattle have access to - pasture, hay, etc., and what condition(BCS) they're in, and stage of pregnancy/lactation/growth the cattle are in, it's virtually impossible for anyone here determine what their nutritional needs are, or how much DDG or corn(if needed to meet energy needs) you'd need to be providing.

 

[simme]

If the feeder is metal, it is probably not going to last long with that much salt added to the mix.

 

[Son of Butch]

I've never used dried distillers grain. I was thinking doing 40%salt, 50%DDG, 10% corn.
A little feedback would be appreciated from any that have made a range meal with DDG.

I'm excluded as have never made.... but imho....
i don't see that 40-50-10 would hurt any, as it would certainly limit intake.

 

[kenny thomas]

I can't imaging with 40% salt they would eat much at all. Is that a normal mixture?

 

[Stocker Steve]

Salt limiting was a thing in the past. I looked at it once because I was working out, but decided not to go there.

Bulk high protein supplement containing DDG was $300 to $330 per ton last fall. Hard to justify this with current calf prices. We should test forages, and then look at what we can afford to feed.

I weaned my heifer calves yesterday and had a good look at everybody. I have two cows that are a bit thin, so I put them on the cull list. One was a great cow but is now old... The other is on the narrow side and a hard keeper. They need supplement but the other 97% do not.

I am working towards a herd that will thrive on the forage I can grow inexpensively. This can be a very fast process if you have a trailer.

 

[Col Reb]

It's to supplement hay. Have a mix of good hay & not so good hay. Feeding the not so good hay first. This is just as a supplement

No takers, eh?

We only ever limit-fed DDG, to supplement hay...never a free-choice mix.
Yes DDG is from corn, but for all intents & purposes, all the carbohydrates have been removed during the fermentation process as starches were converted to alcohol... it's primarily a protein supplement, not an energy source... .

 

[KAstocker]

DDG was 200-225 this fall here. It actually dropped to like 180 or so this summer.

The right way to do it would be to figure out how much energy and how much protein they need. Supplement the extra that they're not getting from feed. Use DDG to supplement protein and corn to supplement energy. DDG provides good energy too, but corn will be cheaper.

40% salt sounds like a lot that should limit intake, but I don't know if I would trust it with DDG. If they happened to go to town on the feed, you would have big problems. DDG is high in sulfur. If they're overall diet is over 0.40% sulfur (I think), they will have neurological problems.

 

[Col Reb]

My cows don't need any more neurological problems, lol

 

[Stocker Steve]

they will have neurological problems.

Had a couple like that. Sold them before they caught me.

 

[Warren Allison]

I have never seen DDG, that I know of around here. I have a friend that has a contract with a Budweiser distillery to haul off their mash. When he brings it in on the 18 Wheeler dump truck, that stuff is soaking wet, and so hot it steams. He has a concrete, 3-sided pit built to dump it in, and has a mill right next to it. He puts a couple of loader buckets in the hopper, with a round bale, and grinds sit all together. It then empties into a truck with an auger on the side, that he can drive down his fence line and shoot it into the troughs he built. So, where does the DDG come from? A contractor like him, that has a facility to dry it and then feed or sell it? Or, do the breweries/distilleries in some places dry this out themselves and then sell it?

 

[KAstocker]

DDG is a byproduct of ethanol

 

[Lee VanRoss]

DDG Tag 14 % Starter Pellet -FC
Medications: Lasalocid..45 grams per ton
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein Min....................................14%
Crude Fat Min.......................................3%
Crude Fiber Max....................................28%
Calcium Max................................... 1.20%
Calcium Min............................................70%
Phosphorus Min....................................0.40%
Potassum Min .....................................1.00%
Vitamin A Min.......................................3000 IU/LB
FEEDING DIRECTIONS
Hand feed at rate of 2-8 lbs per head per day Will provide 45mg to 180mg of Lasalocid per head per day
Note: Provide plenty of fresh water at all times. Keep feed fresh in cool dry storage DO NOT use feed that
is old, molded or insect infested. Use in accordance with directions
Feed Ingredients:
Processed Grain Byproducts, Roughage Products, Plant Protein Products, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulphate
Copper Sulphate, Cobalt Carbonate, Manganese Sulphate and Vitamins A. D. & E Supplements
Manufactured by ............

I feed with mediocre hay in round bale feeder.
Try to sell at 11 months Steers will run 870-920 and no they are not black .. Heifers will be accordingly lighter .
Works well for me. You can argue among yourselves on the merits. LVR

 

[Lucky_P]

LVR,
You're feeding a medicated pelleted feed that contains some DDG; not DDG itself.

Warren Allison, DDG typically comes from a fuel ethanol plant. The local one here takes the vast majority of corn raised in this and several adjoining counties - their website says they processed 15 million bushels of corn this past year. This plant produces fuel-grade ethanol, Distiller's grain products, feed-grade corn oil, and captures and sells CO2 produced by the fermentation process as bottled CO2 and dry ice

DDG at the local ethanol plant here is currently priced at $235/Ton.
Guaranteed analysis:
Moisture maximum 12.0%
Crude Protein minimum 27.0%
Crude Fiber maximum 8.0%
Crude Fat minimum 6%

 

[Lee VanRoss]

With corn pushing $5.00 you might want to contract what you can at the $235/ton as I doubt that will hold for long!

 

[Lucky_P]

No need for me to do that. I'm not even feeding hay this winter.
Sold the herd last fall... all I have left is one deformed 'pet' heifer and two hayburners. For the first time in 25 years, there's plenty of grass... 85 acres of fescue/OG and 12 acres of covercrop wheat/rye/ryegrass. More than those 3... and the 30+ deer I see every evening... can eat.

 

[Warren Allison]

LVR,
You're feeding a medicated pelleted feed that contains some DDG; not DDG itself.

Warren Allison, DDG typically comes from a fuel ethanol plant. The local one here takes the vast majority of corn raised in this and several adjoining counties - their website says they processed 15 million bushels of corn this past year. This plant produces fuel-grade ethanol, Distiller's grain products, feed-grade corn oil, and captures and sells CO2 produced by the fermentation process as bottled CO2 and dry ice

DDG at the local ethanol plant here is currently priced at $235/Ton.
Guaranteed analysis:
Moisture maximum 12.0%
Crude Protein minimum 27.0%
Crude Fiber maximum 8.0%
Crude Fat minimum 6%

Lucky, does the plant dry it out there? Do they just sell bulk, or do they also bag some? Or sell it to a feed mill that dries it and sells it bulk and/or bag?

 

[Lucky_P]

They dry. Bulk only.
You can buy wet, modified, or dry.
Wet & modified are cheaper, because of higher moisture content - 65% & 50%, respectively.
We fed modified for a few years, but dry penciled out better most years, was easier to handle, and didn't require feeding as many #/day.
They ship a large amount by rail car; feed companies and farmer-feeders buy it by the semi load. We could only haul 7-8K # per load in our trailer.

 

[Warren Allison]

No need for me to do that. I'm not even feeding hay this winter.
Sold the herd last fall... all I have left is one deformed 'pet' heifer and two hayburners. For the first time in 25 years, there's plenty of grass... 85 acres of fescue/OG and 12 acres of covercrop wheat/rye/ryegrass. More than those 3... and the 30+ deer I see every evening... can eat.

You want something to eat all that? Saw an ad today for a herd in LA ( lower Alabama). Man has 45 Criollo cows (Fla Cracker, Fla Scrub, Piney Wood, Longhorn X Corriente) , 2nd and 3rd calf cows, bred to Brangus bulls, to start calving last of Feb.-1st of March. Also, 30 of their daughters, all black, sired by a black Corriente, bred to Angus bulls, calving Feb and March. All 75 for $400/hd. Man ,with all that grass you have, and these kind of cows, you'd just turn them out and wouldn't have to do a thing but give them water and salt. Come October, you'd have 75 black, polled calves, big as their mommas, to sell.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

H:eat and humidity might be a consideration in the summer if your were storing for any length of time....