NEW FUEL FOR BEEF CATTLE by Mike Mehren Ph.D.

NEW FUEL FOR BEEF CATTLE
BY MIKE MEHREN

In the near future there will be some exciting feed ingredient pportunities for beef cattle producers located in the Pacific Northwest. Plants are now being built to produce ethanol and canola oil. This means that we will have LOCAL supplies of the by-products from these plants.

The process from which they are produced distinguishes the primary by products produced by ethanol production.

Dry Milling corn generates:
1. Corn distillers grains
2. Corn distillers dried grains
3. Corn distillers grains w/ solubles
4. Corn condensed distillers solubles
5. Wet distillers grains.

Wet Milling corn generates:
1. Condensed corn fermented extractives
2. Corn germ meal
3. Corn gluten feed
4. Wet corn gluten feed
5. Corn gluten meal.

It's important to remember that any source of sugar or starch can be used to produce ethanol. Some examples of these sources would be: potatoes, wheat, barley, oats, molasses, wood, paper, grass, and municipal garbage.

Canola is a specific variety of rape. The seeds are crushed or a solvent is used to remove the oil. Production of canola oil for human use, biodiesel, or other industrial use provides the by products Canola Meal and Canola Fines. No doubt other crops such as sunflowers, or safflower will also be grown for oil. Biodiesel is defined as a diesel equivalent biofuel made from animal or vegetable fat. Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine in 1893. His engine was powered by peanut oil. He believed that the use of vegetable fuel was the real future for his engine. Here we are over 100 years later reinventing the wheel!

Analyses of some of these by products are shown below:

	100 % dry matter basis.
Product	Prot.	TDN	Ca	P
Corn Dstlrs Grains w/ soluble,dry	29	92	.14	.89
Corn Gluten Meal, dried	46	85	.16	.40
Canola Meal	39	71	.68	1.10
	COMPARE WITH
Corn grain	9.98	93	.03	.30
Alfalfa Hay, hi quality feeder	19	60	1.30	22

We have had the products at the top of the table above available for quite a few years. The canola meal and distillers grains with solubles have been imported from Canada. Feedmills and dairymen have been the primary users of these products. Having this history with products that may be new to the beef industry is really a great benefit. We already have information on what constitutes good canola meal or distillers by-products versus product that has been mishandled or adulterated. We have plenty of research from the Distillers Grain Council on feeding the corn products to cattle. Canadian researchers have provided us with guidelines for feeding canola meal. We also have great first-hand experience about handling the products from an equipment standpoint.

When ethanol is made from a source of sugar or starch, that portion of the ingredient is used up in making the alcohol. For instance when corn is used, you can see in the table above that the by products have concentrated sources of protein, calcium and phosphorus. If you measured the amount of sugar and starch left in the by products, it would be quite low. My table didn't show it, but the fiber portion of the corn by products is also concentrated. The same is true with the by products from any of the various grains or other vegetables that might serve as the source of the energy for the alcohol.

Some recent research has indicted that there may be a benefit to feeding heifers or thin cows an appreciable amount of fat prior to breeding. Most cattle ranches have no good means of handling or feeding fat. Tubs are made that have 5-10% added fat. These can be used, but are quite expensive. Corn distillers grain with solubles has about 10% fat. Feeding two pounds of this daily would provide a significant amount of protein and phosphorus, as well as fat. The cost savings versus a traditional supplement would be substantial. If you attempted to feed one-half pound of fat daily, it would take 5 lb. of a feed or supplement that had 10% fat. (0.5 divided 10%= 5). Five pounds of a high fat supplement is much higher than is recommended by the feed manufacturer. In some cases it could be dangerous. However, 5 lb of corn distillers grain with solubles is safe. However you would have to figure out how to feed it, so that all the cattle at least got a chance to eat it. It may take feed troughs or a fence line feeder using an electric wire.

In years past, everybody and their brother fed 'cake' to cows and yearlings during the dry season when forage was mature. Cake was made primarily from cottonseed meal. We rarely see cottonseed meal as an ingredient in a protein supplement made in the Pacific Northwest. Canola meal and to a lesser extent, Soybean meal have replaced cottonseed meal. These products can also be used to make 'cake' or a large pellet that can be fed on the ground without excessive waste. Canola meal or fines will be available for purchase like any other commodity. A person could take the canola product (or ethanol by products, for that matter); mix it with salt and a mineral to produce his own supplement. A complete supplement in meal form can also be purchased from a feed manufacturer or feed store. It can be fed in a trough, or most typically, in tubs. These products, cake or meal, can have salt or any other mineral added. Most generally they are fortified with vitamins A, D, and E. Feed additives such as Bovatec, Gain-Pro, or Rumensin can be included to improve feed efficiency and rate of gain. If warranted, a de-wormer or fly controller is also available.

We have seen the price of alfalfa remain strong from the beginning of the season until cattle are turned out. Hay that is 'dairy quality' has a protein content ranging from 22 to 25%. Prices have been at $130 and above for this type of hay. Canola meal, having 36% protein, has also been priced at $130. If you can figure out how to feed hay to a group of cows or calves, it would be a pretty good bet that you could figure out some way to feed canola meal when the price is favorable. Cost does amazing things to what can or can't be done.

It will be fascinating to watch the changes in beef cattle feeding that occur as local sources of ethanol and Biodiesel by products become available. These changes won't be confined to feedlots, but will find their way into cow-calf and yearling operations as well.

Michael J. Mehren, Ph.D. is a livestock nutritionist busy sampling ethanol strictly in the name of science. He may be contacted by Email at mehrens@eotnet.net.