Research carried out over four years showed economic and performance gains in beef cattle diets using DDG. The product is corn grain dried by distillation in the ethanol manufacturing process and has a high protein content. The bran is already widely used in the United States, Argentina and Paraguay and has been offered on the international market in greater quantities due to the expansion of grain and fuel production in the country.
With emphasis on the nutrition of beef cattle, DDG can replace noble protein compounds that have a higher cost. The survey was carried out by the animal nutrition company Trouw Nutrition and the Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) – Jaboticabal campus. “The motivation was to generate data with the Brazilian DDG to better understand its administration in tropical diets and, thus, be able to provide information to livestock farmers, who are always attentive to high-performance and cost-reducing options. DDG is a source of protein with an increasing supply in Brazil due to corn alcohol distilleries”, explains João Benatti, product manager for Ruminants at Trouw Nutrition.
The report had conclusions drawn up by members of the UnespFor Research Group, from the Forage and Pasture sector, and presented results in two breeding periods: wet (breeding) and dry (finishing). During the growing season (water season), the increasing inclusion of DDG as a source of non-degradable protein was evaluated to replace cottonseed meal and supplements with different nutritional inputs with DDG in their composition, supplied to beef cattle managed on pastures. “It was possible to evaluate consumption, apparent total digestibility, nitrogen balance, microbial protein synthesis efficiency, ruminal parameters, efficiency in weight gain and nitrogen use, animal performance and methane production”, informs Benatti. In the dry season of the year, when the final phase of animal fattening occurs, finishing systems were compared: Express Confinement and conventional confinement.
The study concluded that no restrictions can be observed regarding the use of DDG in the diet of beef cattle. The biggest impediment found concerns the cost of the co-product. “The livestock farmer must always take into account the law of supply and demand, a fundamental factor in making decisions regarding whether to use them or not, as the availability of these ingredients normally fluctuates throughout the year, due to the seasonality of the industrialization process. ”, highlights Benatti.
According to the Sugarcane Industry Union (Unica), Brazil will need 100 new ethanol plants by 2020 to meet domestic demand for the fuel. According to the National Supply Company (Conab), the supply of corn in Brazil is greater than domestic consumption, which could make it an excellent product for ethanol.
“There are already industries that use corn to produce ethanol and they offer DDG to the market, mainly in the Central-West region. Therefore, research in the country using DDG in ruminant feeding is important. It is necessary to think about the expansion of this agro-industrial segment and the consequent increase in the supply of this co-product”, highlights Benatti.
Source: agrolink
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