“Grain Processing Matters”
by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist
Livestock feeders often may feel like they are held hostage by the vagaries of the rest of the global market, particularly when it comes to feed cost. But there are a few things you can do to make sure you’re getting the most out of your substantial investment.
Making sure you have an active implant with less than 100 days working in the cattle at all times is one idea. Another is ensuring adequate extent of grain processing to get thorough digestion and efficient utilization of the grain.
For decades, Midwestern feedlot nutritionists have recommended that “a coarse crack” is sufficient to get acceptable levels of digestion without risking bloat and acidosis. Interestingly, however, in the high plains, away from the corn belt, the feedlot industry felt the need for extensive grain processing 40 years ago when we all lived in a kinder, gentler, grain market. Now that grain prices have risen to stratospheric levels, we need a new paradigm. Some research data suggests we can improve the efficiency of corn utilization by 4-5%—$20/head in today’s corn market—by fine grinding (1,000-2,000 microns) instead of coarse cracking the grain.
The other factor which can help us change our paradigm is our ubiquitous use of wet corn milling byproducts. These products are routinely priced at a value to corn, and are often included from 20-60% of the ration dry matter. This makes the diet a completely different beast than what nutritionists had to work with in the ‘70’s, ‘80’s, and ‘90’s. If all the ingredients are dry, finer particles will tend to sift through the diet mixture and fall to the bottom of the bunk. If these fine particles contain mostly rapidly fermentable starch, there’s a good risk of bloat.
Although the particle size of distillers grains is very fine, due to their fibrous nature, distillers grains fines do not present nearly as great of risk for causing bloat as corn fines. And the high moisture content improves the positional stability of the total mixture such that the fine particles remain mixed as opposed to settling to the bottom of the bunk. Those fines which do settle out will be a blend of corn fines and distillers grains, with a reduced risk of bloat.
Grinding corn to hog-feed consistency flies in the face of convention. But if you are using at least 20% (dry matter basis) of a wet milling byproduct ingredient, consider grinding the grain to a finer particle size to ensure maximum utilization of your sizable investment.
