There is a new economic challenge at every fork in the agricultural road, and the growing ethanol industry has presented not only the opportunity for higher grain prices for corn growers, but presented a challenge to the livestock producer of either paying more for corn or consuming the ethanol feed co-product. There is currently a growing supply of distillers’ dried grains from dry milling ethanol plants and corn gluten feed from wet corn milling plants as increased quantities of corn are refined into ethanol. Can the US livestock industry really use all of those millions of tons of DDGS and corn gluten?

The answer is yes, says Terry Klopfenstein, a ruminant nutritionist at the University of Nebraska. He was one of a dozen speakers in late May at a University of Illinois conference focused on integrating the livestock and renewable fuels industries. The clash of those titans has thundered through grain and livestock markets, inflating costs for corn users, and dismantling some which were operating on the edge. The point made by Klopfenstein is that livestock will be able to consume the ethanol co-products at some level in their ration, saving on feed costs and extending the supply of corn.

He says if the ethanol plants in operation or being planned were making ethanol, they would consume 7.8 billion bushels of corn and make 21 billion gallons of ethanol. At that point the US would be producing 70.6 million tons of distillers’ dried grains, and if fed to livestock, it would disappear. Swine could consume 8.7 million tons, poultry could consume 6.9 million tons, dairy cattle could consume 16 million tons, and beef cattle could consume 39 million tons. Nutritionally, DDGS is 30% crude protein with .8% phosphorous, and 11% fat. It is a high fiber energy source with high digestibility energy content, which is 125% that of corn in either the wet or dry state. However, producers should watch the high fat content and the variable sulfur content.

Klopfenstein says there is an advantage to using the wet product from the wet milling plants. Once dried, there is a 30% savings under the cost of distillers’ dried grains, and if cattle feedlots were jointly operating with an ethanol plant, the feed cost would only be 75-85% of the cost of corn. Of course, the individual producer needs to evaluate how the animals perform on the feed. Klopfenstein’s presentation included numerous charts on daily gain, feed conversion, marbling scores, and other values; as well as price comparisons with corn and cost of delivery from the plant. Regarding the wet corn gluten feed, it is 19-24% crude protein and only 2% fat. Its energy content ranges from 85-110% that of corn and the sulfur content is stable.

But Klopfenstein offers a potential solution that few others have suggested, and that is feeding a combination of wet corn gluten feed and wet distillers’ grains which allows the two to complement each other’s shortcomings in nutrition, specifically the fat content, effective fiber and protein components. Klopfenstein and colleagues have authored more information for producers wanting to feed both of the ethanol co-products.

Summary:
The growing demands of the ethanol industry will continue to pose challenges for livestock producers, but the ethanol industry is also providing a feed alternative. While there are weaknesses in both wet corn gluten feed and distillers’ dried grains, there is a potential for a blend of the two to approach a more complete ration for the ruminant animal than would just one of the two. With creative feeding programs, the US livestock industry may be able to survive high corn prices by shifting to alternative feeds.