Spent beer grain for feed

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tncattle

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I can buy spent beer grain in 55 gal. barrels for $20 each, it's supposed to be 20%-25% protein.

Anyone feed this stuff?
What are the dangers?
 
There use to be a big brewery here and dairies fed that stuff by the truck load. My concern would be the percent moisture. It might sound like a good deal but if it is a lot of water it might not pencil out so well.
 
I think 20 bucks is what the barrels cost. Have you talked to any of the micro brewerys? I'm trying to find some in Hunstville Al now.
 
tncattle":2i665q30 said:
I can buy spent beer grain in 55 gal. barrels for $20 each, it's supposed to be 20%-25% protein.

Anyone feed this stuff?
What are the dangers?
Thta would be 25% on a dry matter basis. "As Fed" it is much less as it's about 65% water (about the same as good silage). We use to feed about 3 truckloads every two weeks to dairy cattle, as much as 40 lbs. per head per day. Very good ingredient and cattle love it. Although it begins as grain after processing for cattle usage it is considered roughage.
 
I get 8 55 barrels a week and feed it free choice. Been doing it for about 3 yrs with no problems.
 
piedmontese":1uwek0qp said:
I get 8 55 barrels a week and feed it free choice. Been doing it for about 3 yrs with no problems.
Do you just throw it out in a feeder and let them at it?
 
tncattle":3exo1e2e said:
piedmontese":3exo1e2e said:
I get 8 55 barrels a week and feed it free choice. Been doing it for about 3 yrs with no problems.
Do you just throw it out in a feeder and let them at it?

Kinda what I was wondering
 
around here you can get it by the truckload and the trucks have a bagger on the back and a walking floor....bag it where you want it....

i used it for a couple of years until the price got up there to be competitive with range cubes on a nutrient basis.....
 
tncattle":h70ym1b5 said:
I can buy spent beer grain in 55 gal. barrels for $20 each, it's supposed to be 20%-25% protein.

Anyone feed this stuff?
What are the dangers?


tn, what sort of price did they give you?? I haven't even priced it in 15 years. Use to be pretty cheap.
 
I buy it by the truck load, 24 tons. It comes in a coal type truck with a bag on the back. Cost depends on distance hauled. Mine comes from Georgia, is $54 per ton delivered. The bag is $155 added.
I intend to pour a slab and stock pile it this summer.
I feed one ton per day during the winter. That makes it cost $31 per ton for 30% protein feed. cows will drink any water that settles and lick the trough.
I sell it to my neighbors for $12 per 55 gallon barrel.
 
TexasBred":2ipsez6s said:
tncattle":2ipsez6s said:
I can buy spent beer grain in 55 gal. barrels for $20 each, it's supposed to be 20%-25% protein.

Anyone feed this stuff?
What are the dangers?


tn, what sort of price did they give you?? I haven't even priced it in 15 years. Use to be pretty cheap.

$20 for a 55 gal barrel full
 
Nesikep":opc93tyy said:
my friend feeds it to his hogs, he gets it by the dumptruck load, and spreads it out so it dries.. works good for them.
That sounds like a good idea. Do they wobble after? Can they still drive home? :)
 
Tim/South":1y8mrlbz said:
I buy it by the truck load, 24 tons. It comes in a coal type truck with a bag on the back. Cost depends on distance hauled. Mine comes from Georgia, is $54 per ton delivered. The bag is $155 added.
I intend to pour a slab and stock pile it this summer.
I feed one ton per day during the winter. That makes it cost $31 per ton for 30% protein feed. cows will drink any water that settles and lick the trough.
I sell it to my neighbors for $12 per 55 gallon barrel.

What's the bag for?
 
tn, what sort of price did they give you?? I haven't even priced it in 15 years. Use to be pretty cheap.[/quote]
Where did you buy it 15 years ago?
 
See https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an241 for a quick discussion of wet brewers grain.

Wet brewers grain is low in calcium which needs supplemented when feeding. The truck shows up with a plastic bag and an apparatus on the back end and usually a live bottom that feeds the grain into the bag as the truck moves forward. The bag prolongs the useful life of the product by reducing oxygen entry to the product - just like ensiled corn or hay silage. The open end of the bag will allow spoilage. Coons, turkeys, coyotes and other varmits can open up the bag and those tears need repairs, usually with duct tape. There's a lot of water in the product which tends to run out the front of the bag as it's used. The waste bag and runoff stink to no end. Really badly!! Handling the waste bag is a sublime experience for both you and your, from a distance now, loving family but then cattle really eat this stuff up. You should get a nutritional analysis handed to you when the truck arrives. I suggest you take that analysis to your local co-op or farm service and have them work up a recipe. These same folks should be able to provide you any required supplements and amendments you need.

University of Missouri provides lists of by products and suppliers and current prices for those by products somewhere on their website. I don't have it handy right. http://agebb.missouri.edu/dairy/byprod/allproducts.asp provides a different listing than what I use in the office. That current list shows wet brewers grain (73% moisture) at $64/ton. Shipping water is expensive so you need have a nearby source for it to be viable.
 
Kingfisher":1hofnhrl said:
tn, what sort of price did they give you?? I haven't even priced it in 15 years. Use to be pretty cheap.
Where did you buy it 15 years ago?[/quote]
Miller Brewery, Burleson, Texas
 
We've been feeding distiller's grain during the winter, for years - from the local ethanol plant, not a brewery. Had been feeding the 'modified' grade, but farm manager penciled it out this year, and the dry was a better value - and there's less spoilage to deal with.
Here's current pricing and analysis on the various grades at our plant:
http://www.commonwealthagrienergy.com/ddgs-pricing.aspx
 

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