WDGS STORAGE

One problem that can be encountered is storage of wet feeds.WDGS has been successfully bagged if no pressure is applied to the bagger. Bags tend to settle because of the weight of the WDGS, resulting in low height and expanded width. Modified wet distillers grains (45% DM) and WCGF bag well, even with pressure.

Adams et al. (2007) conducted two experiments to determine methods to store WDGS (34% DM), because WDGS will not store in silo bags under pressure or pack into a bunker.The first study evaluated three forage sources, as well as DDGS or WCGF mixed with WDGS.The products were mixed in feed trucks and placed into 9-ft. diameter silo bags.The bagger was set at a constant pressure of 300 psi. The height of the silo bag was a determining factor of storability. Inclusion levels of the feedstuffs were adjusted to improve the bag shape. The recommended levels of feedstuffs for bagging with WDGS (DM basis) are 15% grass hay, 22.5% alfalfa hay, 12.5% wheat straw, 50% DDGS, or 60% WCGF. The corresponding as-is percentages for the feedstuffs are 6.3, 10.5, 5.1, 27.5, and 53.7% of the mix, respectively.The second experiment was conducted by mixing grass hay with WDGS and storing in a concrete bunker. Both 30 and 40% mixtures of grass hay with WDGS (DM basis) packed into the bunker.These values correspond to 14.0 and 20.1% of the as-is grass hay mix. In both experiments, the product was stored more than 45 days and the apparent quality did not change. Wet DGS can be stored in a silo bag or bunker silo when mixed with drier or bulkier feedstuffs. More information is available at http://beef.unl.edu.

Storage allows cattle feeders with smaller numbers of animals to use wet co-products and not have the products deteriorate with extended time between deliveries of fresh material from the plant.Wet co-products are often more available and less expensive in the summer. Storage allows for purchase of wet co-products in the summer and subsequent feeding in the winter.

The resulting stored (ensiled) mix of wheat straw and WDGS has been fed to stocker calves. The palatability of the straw (cornstalks as well) seems to have been enhanced by storage. The feeding value is at least equal to what would be expected from the mathematical blend of WDGS and wheat straw. Further, the resulting mix after storage can be fed on the ground in range and pasture situations where cubes (cake) are normally fed on the ground.

For more information or to request additional copies of this manual, contact the Nebraska Corn Board at 1-800-632-6761 or e-mail k.brunkhorst@necorn.state.ne.us.

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For more information on the feeding of corn milling co-products to beef cattle
and information contained in this manual, contact:
Dr. Galen Erickson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Animal Science Room C220, Lincoln, NE 68583-0908, 402-472-6402

Date published: August, 2007