NEW ETHANOL INDUSTRY CO-PRODUCTS

The evolving ethanol industry is continually striving to maximize ethanol production efficiency. Changes associated with this progress will provide innovative new co-products feeds for producers to utilize that may be quite different nutritionally when fed to cattle. One example of a new co-product feed is Dakota Bran Cake. Dakota Bran Cake is a distillers co-product feed produced as primarily corn bran plus distillers solubles produced from a prefractionation dry milling process. On a DM basis, bran cake contains less protein than WDGS and WCGF, similar NDF to both feeds and similar to slightly less fat content as WDGS. Bremer et al. (2005) evaluated Dakota Bran Cake in a finishing diet by comparing inclusion levels of 0, 15, 30, and 45% of diet DM. Results indicated improved final weight, ADG, DMI and F:G compared to feeding a blend of HMC and DRC, suggesting this specific feed has 100-108% of the feeding value of corn. Buckner et al. (2007c) compared dried Dakota Bran Cake to DDGS supplementation in growing calf diets. They fed each of the two products at 15 or 30% of the diet replacing a 70:30 blend of brome grass hay and alfalfa haylage (DM basis). Animal performance improved as the inclusion of the co-products increased. DDGS had improved performance compared to the dried Dakota Bran Cake at both inclusion levels. Dried Dakota Bran Cake had 84% the feeding value of DDGS with growing steers. Previous research has shown that DDGS has about 127% the feeding value of corn in forage based diets.Therefore, dried Dakota Bran Cake appears to have an energy value equal to 103% of corn. Dakota Bran Cake is only one example of how new ethanol industry co-products will feed relative to traditional finishing rations. Each new co-products feed needs to be analyzed individually for correct feeding value. Changes to plant production goals and production efficiency have a significant impact on the feeding value of co-products produced.

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.

Download PDF version of this manual, or



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