Ethanol Blog

Instead of selling calves after weaning, beef producers can cost-effectively add value to weaned calves by grazing corn residue and supplementing with dried distillers grains, according to an article on CattleNetwork.com written by Mary Drewnoski, Daren Redfearn and Jay Parsons from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension (http://bit.ly/…).

Producers should consider the stocking rate and supplementation level in order to economically increase calf value.

Corn fields that have been harvested with greater grains production can accommodate larger stocking rates. But since all forage is present at turn out and the quality and availability of forage decreases over time, producers should follow recommended stocking rates to achieve targeted gains. Also, they should keep in mind that there are about 16 pounds of leaf and husk for every bushel of corn produced, although some will be lost to wind and trampling. Leaf and husk quality of irrigated fields will be lower than dryland fields.

UN-L research has found that calves grazing irrigated corn fields can be supplemented with 3 pounds per day of DDG. Such supplementation levels should result in a gain of 1.3 pounds per day, or 1.8 pounds per day is gained if supplementation is increased to 6 pounds per day of DDG.

Researchers calculated (using a price of $150/ton for DDG) a cost of $0.23 per day to supplement DDG at 3 pounds per day and $0.45 to supplement at 6 pounds per day. This supplementation for increased average daily gain should result in great profitability, considering current calf and feed prices.

The researchers also pointed out that modified distillers grains are usually an even better value, provided the producer lives close to an ethanol plant; however, MDG are only about 50% dry matter and require about twice the amount of DDG.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com

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