Cornstalks and Distillers' Grains Good Feed For Heifers

By Ron Johnson, Dairy Editor
Thursday, March 8, 2007 12:43 PM CST

As corn, soybean and energy prices rise, where can a dairy producer cut a few costs to compensate?

One answer might be to feed wet corn distillers' grains and cornstalks to older heifers and cows that are early in their dry periods.

Mike Hutjens, a University of Illinois-Extension dairy specialist, says the two can work well as a team.

"Each feed is a complement to the other feed, balancing the nutrients," Hutjens points out. "For example, distillers' grains are high in protein, fat, energy and phosphorus. Cornstalks are high in fiber and low in crude protein and phosphorus."

Here's how distillers' grains and cornstalks compare for eight attributes.

Distillers' grains typically come in at about 51.3 percent moisture and have about 27 percent crude protein. Their acid detergent fiber (ADF) runs about 8.4 percent, while their neutral detergent fiber (NDF) runs about 16 percent.

They typically contain just 0.04 percent calcium, 1.19 percent phosphorus, 0.90 percent sulfur, and are 79.5 percent total digestible nutrients (TDN).

By contrast, cornstalks generally run about 12.1 percent moisture and contain only 5.5 percent crude protein. Their ADF is about 46.5 percent and their NDF is about 77.7 percent.

Cornstalks also typically contain a mere 0.35 percent calcium, 0.16 percent phosphorus, and 1.10 percent sulfur. Their TDN runs around 55.3 percent.

What happens when the two are put together? In a ration of 30 percent wet corn distillers' grains and 70 percent cornstalks, the analysis looks something like this: 25 percent moisture, 12 to 14 percent crude protein, ADF of 35, NDF of 59, calcium at 0.26 percent, phosphorus at 0.46 percent, sulfur at 0.34 percent, and TDN at 63.

"Heifer growers will look at this ration and conclude that it's a balanced ration with additional minerals and vitamins," Hutjens comments.

That above blend of 30 percent distillers' grains and 70 percent cornstalks was studied at South Dakota State University. A few more minerals and a bit of urea was added to the blend. In the end, it contained 6.6 pounds of distillers' grains, 12.3 pounds of cornstalks, 0.05 pound limestone, 0.04 pound trace mineral salt, 0.14 pound of urea, and 0.01 pound of a premix containing Vitamins A, D and E.

That ration was fed to heifers weighing 850 pounds. The researchers' goal was to get the heifers to put on 1.8 pounds a day. They compared that ration of cornstalks and distillers' grains to a more conventional one made up of alfalfa, corn silage, corn and supplement.

"Comparable weight gains and wither and hook height growth were achieved compared to the traditional heifer ration," says Hutjens. "But the cost per day for the conventional ration was $1.26 per heifer, compared to 40 cents a day for the distillers'-cornstalk ration.

"For smaller heifers weighing 450 pounds, the cost for the conventional ration was 70 cents per heifer per day, compared to 27 cents per heifer per day," he continues. "The distillers'-cornstalk ration could also be fed to far-off dry cows, similar to a high-straw diet."

Management

Hutjens offers these 10 points that dairy producers should be aware of before they begin feeding a combination of wet corn distillers' grains and cornstalks:

Wet distillers' grains leave ethanol plants at a pH of three. At a pH that low, and with very few fermentable carbohydrates in the cornstalks, very little fermentation will take place in a silage bag.

 

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