November 11, 2014
More DDGS can be fed to cattle if mixed with calcium oxide, study says
Distiller grains could be used at higher levels in livestock feed mixes if added with small amounts of calcium oxide, researches at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana claim.
Adding calcium oxide directly to a feed mix at a rate of 1.6% made the distiller grains less acidic, more digestible and more nutritious, leading to better growth performance in beef cattle, the researchers found.
A relatively inexpensive and plentiful bi-product of ethanol production, distiller grains- also known as DDGS-- are used as an alternative energy and protein source to corn in cattle diets. However, to maintain optimal performance, they are typically limited to inclusion rates of less than 30% of the diet.
Previous research has demonstrated that that acidity of distiller grains, from the sulphuric acid used to control the starch fermentation during ethanol production, may play a primary role in reducing intake and growth rates when inclusion exceeds 30%. Therefore, if this acidity can be neutralized, it might become feasible to increase their inclusion in beef cattlediets.
"We hypothesized that increasing dietary calcium oxide inclusion would decrease feed acidity and consequently increase ruminal pH, thus improving nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation and performance of beef cattle fed diets containing 60% dried distiller grains," the researchers wrote in the Journal of Animal Science.
Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of increasing dietary calcium oxide on ruminal fermentation, diet digestibility, performance and carcass characteristics.
Cattle were given feed containing 60% distiller grains, dry rolled corn, a vitamin and mineral supplement and calcium oxide at levels ranging from 0% up to 2.4% of total dry matter.
Optimal cattle performance is a combination of increased growth rates, improved feed efficiency and production of high quality meat.
Overall, the groups that were fed distiller grains with the calcium oxide supplement performed better than the other test cattle, consuming less feed while maintaining a steady increase in body weight.