Value of Dry Distillers Grains in High-Forage Diets and Effect of Supplementation Frequency

1 Dry distillers grains improved gain and efficienicy relative to corn. Heifers supplemented daily consumed more hay and gained faster, but were not more efficient than those supplemented three times weekly. Summary An experiment was conducted with 120 crossbred heifers to determine the value of dry distillers grains (DDG) in high-forage diets, and to evaluate the effect of supplementing daily compared to three times weekly. Heifers were fed to consume grass hay ad libitum and supplemented with DDG, dry rolled corn (DRC), or DRC with corn gluten meal (DRC+CGM). Supplements were fed at two levels and offered either daily or three times per week in equal proportions. Heifers supplemented daily ate more hay, gained faster (1.37 vs. 1.24 lb per day), but were not more efficient than those supplemented on alternate days. At the low level of gain, DDG heifers gained more and were more efficient than DRC or DRC+CGM. At the high level of gain, DDG and DRC+CGM were not different, although both resulted in improved gain and efficiency relative to DRC.