Dried distiller's grain may have place in grazing programs

From a Texas A&M press release this morning:

Supplemental feeding of dried distiller's grains (DDG) to cattle can help produce more beef in grazing programs, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station researcher says.

After a summer and fall feeding study done with both heifers and steers, Dr. Jim MacDonald, Experiment Station beef nutritionist, says he believes this by-product of ethanol production will be useful in more than just feedlot or dairy operations.

A tremendous amount of DDG will be available as ethanol production expands, he notes. In the Texas High Plains, alone, an additional 200 to 600 million gallons of ethanol are expected to be produced in the High Plains, MacDonald says. Production will utilize up to 214 million bushels of corn or sorghum and result in 1.71 million tons of DDG in that part of the state.

"A majority will likely be utilized by feedyards and dairies, but due to the sheer increase in availability, there should be opportunities for cow/calf and stocker operations to use it as well," he said.

Click here for the full report.