Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops
Team
By Jerry Bertoldo
The corn-to-ethanol movement has been on the firing line of late, blamed for high feed commodity prices, expensive grocery store bills and even world hunger. The not-so- insignificant matters of a weak dollar, whopping trade deficits and the Asian buying frenzy of raw materials seems to be lost in the discussion. With the number of ethanol plants operating, there’s likely be an evolution in the cropping and feeding landscapes but not a revolution as the media portrays.
Locally, the Western New York Energy facility in Orleans County has been less of a headline stealer. Rather quietly, it began operations late last fall. Growers in the region have been lining up with truckloads of corn to sell above expectations. The byproduct of the ethanol production – distillers grains – has been disappearing out of inventory at a brisk pace. Quality and consistency have been better than what past experience lead us to expect.
Will the input costs for the 2008 crop lead to a decidedly different profit margin and future for grain growers and ethanol plant this year vs. 2007? Time will tell.
Feeding distillers
Distillers grains, with or without the solubles added back, have been
used in the Northeast for decades. Cornell animal scientist and nutrition
researcher Frank B. Morrison wrote in the 1920 edition of Feeds and Feeding
that “this rather bulky feed is one of the best high-protein concentrates
for dairy cows, from 2-4 lbs. per head daily being usually fed.”
Time hasn’t changed the truth of this statement.
Variability describes distillers grains. This isn’t critical to feedlots or replacement heifers, but it is to milking cows. At maximum use of 10% of ration dry matter (DM), distillers can represent 40% of formulated diet variability. Historically the wide range of dry matter, protein, bound protein, carbohydrates and fat content has been the downside to accurately balancing dairy rations with distillers grain. Specs could change by plant and even by batch within plants.
That variability doesn’t exist with modern ethanol plants that produce distillers grains as a value-added co-product, often along with carbon dioxide and corn oil. Consistency can maximize the margin on a bushel of purchased corn. Also, attention to mold-tainted corn coming into ethanol plants is important today, more than in the past. The mycotoxins that these molds can produce aren’t destroyed in the fermentation process but are carried through and concentrated three-fold in the distillers grains.
The Western New York
Energy plant is typical of the state-of-the-art technology now used in
ethanol facility design and quality control processes to eliminate end
product variability and minimize mycotoxin presence. Here’s a look
at the various components of distillers grains at this facility:
• DM of the wet, or modified, distillers grains has averaged just
over 50%, with a range of 49 to 53%, compared to the mid-30s in the past.
• Protein has averaged 27.3%, ranging 26.5 to 28.9%. Unavailable,
or bound protein, has averaged 2.8%, or 10% of the crude protein. This
is a 33% reduction from the historic averages, as reported by the Dairy
One lab. Temperature control at drying is a critical step; “burnt”
dark distillers sacrifices available or digestible protein.
• With newer drying equipment, fat content has dropped to 10.7%
in April from the industry average of 12 to 13%. It’s expected to
be 8.5 to 9.0% in the near future. High feeding levels of unsaturated
vegetable oils (fats) impairs rumen function leading to poor digestion
and decreased milk components. This has kept a ceiling on the amount of
distiller grains used in milking cow rations.
• As with all corn products, distillers grains are low in lysine
needing supplementation if it’s the primary protein source.
• The phosphorus content is high – 0.84% vs. 0.31% for corn.
This can potentially cause nutrient management problems with heavy use.
• The calcium level is higher than corn, but still rather low at
0.24% vs. 0.02%. Keep this in mind if feeding heavily to youngstock for
protein and energy value.
• Distillers grains’ energy content is similar to corn but
lacks the starch content. Higher fat and protein make up the difference.
Modern plants such as Western New York Energy can offer a fairly consistent feedstuff that is economical to use without the old baggage that still plagues ethanol facilities with inadequate quality control. This region’s field crop and livestock farmers can find added value right now in a local ethanol plant. How long this will last is anyone’s guess.
To learn more…
Jerry Bertoldo is the dairy specialist with the Northwest New York Dairy,
Livestock and Field Crops team. Contact him at the Batavia office. Tel:
518-343-3040. Ext. 133. Email: grb23@cornell.edu
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