Preservation and Feeding of Wet Distillers Grains to Dairy Cattle

Distillers’ grains continue to be one of the most readily available co-products in use in the Midwest. Its price is driven not only by that of other concentrate feeds (such as corn and soybean meal) but also by supply and demand. Its popularity has increased in recent years among dairy producers, grain elevators, and nutritionists due to its high nutrient density, competitive price, and availability. The high concentration of protein, fiber, and fat resulting from the removal of the starch are the reasons for this increased nutrient concentration and improved animal performance. Ethanol plants usually sell wet and/or dried distillers’ grains (DDG), and are usually built in corn growing areas, relatively close to large dairy producers. Wet distillers’ grains (WDG) are fed to dairy cattle located in relative proximity to these plant whereas DDG are fed locally or can be exported to almost everywhere in the world. The current increase in ethanol production and distillers’ grains availability is spurred by raising fossil fuel costs. Using WDG locally makes thus more sense from an energy efficiency standpoint than drying and transporting DDG. Furthermore, the application of heat during the drying process of DDG entails the possibility of heat damaging the protein, which reduces nutrient availability. Preservation issues, both at the ethanol production plant and the farm have been the main constraints that prevent the widespread use of WDG. Due to the increased risk of spoilage ethanol plants do not want to wait unnecessarily before shipping WDG. Dairy producers need also to adjust the tonnage of WDG received to the number of animals to be fed or use storage methods that preserve the quality of the product. This paper will discuss issues related to the conservation and the use of wet distillers’ grains fed to dairy cattle.