MANAGING Tough Times
Feeding Strategies for Coping with High Commodity Prices
Dan Loy
Iowa State University
MANAGING Tough Times
Strategies
• Be efficient• Maximize time outside the feedlot• Minimize storage and feeding losses• Find local feed bargains• Use more corn co products
MANAGING Tough Times
How to deal with high priced corn?
• Feed less corn• Price of WDG and MDG in relation to
corn: 75% and 62% (2/4/11)
MANAGING Tough Times
Feed Losses--The 3 M’s
Measure
MonitorManage
MANAGING Tough Times
Trial 1--Bagging 80/20 WDGS:Hay
MANAGING Tough Times
WDG trial 2—Mixed in mixer wagon and packed into bunker silo
• Fed to 255 kg calves for 118 days
• 54 calves were allotted to 9 pens (6/pen) with 3 reps per treatment
• Treatments were control, bunker mixture and WDG/hay (mixed daily)
MANAGING Tough Times
Summary ISU WDG storage demos
• Mixtures of WDG (30% DM) and ground hay of a ration of 80-20% as-fed (60-40% DM basis)– Yields a mixture that is approximately 40% dry
matter and can be handled and stored using silage preservation methods
– Storage losses were 9-11%– Mixing effectiveness using an end loader was
acceptable
MANAGING Tough Times
MDG storage trial 1Three loads of MDG were delivered on October 18 and placed in silo bags
MANAGING Tough Times
MDG trial 2• Three loads of MDG were
“piled” into pyramids, covered with 4mm plastic and sealed with ground limestone
• Individual piles were opened 85 to 211 days later
• MDG was fed as a supplement to cows from the ISU beef breeding project
MANAGING Tough Times
Summary ISU MDG storage demos• MDG can be stored for
80-200 days with storage losses from 7-12%
• Higher losses can occur if the rate of feedout too slow
• Low cost methods can be used if they successfully limit exposure of the feed to air
MANAGING Tough Times
Are your cattle “locavores”
• Home grown feeds• Similar feeds available from neighbors
or unique byproduct feeds • Regional opportunities like wet corn co
products– Seasonal bargains, long term storage
• Local commodity pricing opportunities
MANAGING Tough Times
Average Daily Gain
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
0 10 20 30 40 50
Ave
rag
e D
ail
y G
ain
, lb
s./
da
y
Diet DM % WDGS
MANAGING Tough Times
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70S
ug
ges
ted
Max
Incl
usi
on
(%
of
DM
)
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Percent Sulfur in DG (DM)
Sulfur levels can limit DG levels
MANAGING Tough Times
Sulfur: the people that did the work:ISU: S. Hansen, M. Drewnoski, S. Ensley, E. Richter
UNL: C. Nichols, J. Sarturi, D. Smith, T. Klopfenstein & G. Erickson
Much of the information presented is from a webinar that was broadcast January 6, 2011
MANAGING Tough Times
Sulfur is a required mineral-so what’s the problem with too
much?
Metabolism of S in the rumen
MANAGING Tough Times
60% of ruminal gas that is eructated is inhaled
SRB
pH dependent
MANAGING Tough Times
PEM in feedlots with high S water
0
5
10
15
20
25
30N
umbe
r of H
ead
Dia
gnos
ed
Day
McAllister: JAVMA 1997, 211:1275
PEM in feedlots with high S water
MANAGING Tough Times
MANAGING Tough Times
10 17 24 31 56 90 1170
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
High S H2S Contol H2S
Days in feedlot
Ru
men
H2S
(p
pm
)
Ad lib 45% 30% 15% 8%
MANAGING Tough Times
MANAGING Tough Times
UNL Analysis
• 17,080 head• Finishing trials• Trials conducted from 2002-2009• 28 diagnosed polios
MANAGING Tough Times
Results (Sulfur Level)
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.80
0.0005
0.001
0.0015
0.002
0.0025
0.003
0.0035
NDF0 NDF5 NDF10 NDF15 NDF20Sulfur (%DM)
Inci
den
ce (
case
s p
er a
nim
al-d
ays)
Sulfur P < 0.01Forage NDF P = 0.13S x F P = 0.04
MANAGING Tough Times
This is your calf’s rumen…
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
Dietary Sulfate (DDGS, WDGS, etc)
This is your calf’s rumen on sulfur
SO4 S-
SRBSRB
SRB
SRB
SRB
SRB
SRB
Animation by Dr. S Hansen, ISU
MANAGING Tough Times
Effect of pH on H2S
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
S-
H2S
H2S
H2S
H2S
H2S H2S
H2S
H2SpH
H2S
H2SH2S
H2SH2S
Animation by Dr. S Hansen, ISU
MANAGING Tough Times
How to Induce PEM
• High S diet • Low (or no) roughage diet• Highly fermentable diet (corn starch,
wheat midds, grains, etc.)– Drop rumen pH and keep it low
MANAGING Tough Times
Summary• pH plays an important role in toxicity
– Manage for acidosis• Consistent feeding (time and amount)• Increase ionophores (30-40g/ton)• Increase roughage level (~15%)
• Cattle are most at risk during the early part of the finishing period
MANAGING Tough Times
With good bunk management and inclusion of 15% roughage in the diet producers could include up to 0.5% S
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.90
20
40
60
80
100
120Limit .4%Limit .5%
Percent S in DG (Dry Matter Basis)
Max
imu
m I
ncl
usi
on
Lev
el %
10-20% increase in co-product inclusion
MANAGING Tough Times
Variability in S content
• Increasing inclusion levels of co-products will increase risk due to variation of S in co-products
• Variation of S in co-products among plants can be considerable
• Load to load variation of S within a plant is typically 5-10%
MANAGING Tough Times
Range of dietary sulfur1 assuming within plant variation of sulfur content in ethanol co-product
% Sulfur expected in co-product
Co-product inclusion level, % of diet DM30 40 50 60
Diet S, % of DM
0.6 % 0.32-0.34 0.36-0.38 0.40-0.43 0.44-0.48
0.7 % 0.35-0.37 0.40-0.43 0.45-0.49 0.50-0.54
0.8 % 0.38-0.40 0.44-0.47 0.50-0.54 0.56-0.61
0.9 % 0.41-0.44 0.48-0.52 0.55-0.60 0.62-0.67
1.0 % 0.44-0.47 0.52-0.56 0.60-0.65 0.68-0.74 1Assumes no sulfur coming from drinking water and a maximum of 10% variation of co-product S content
MANAGING Tough Times
Recommendations
• Can have up to 0.5% S if you include at least 15% roughage in the diet
• Use a consistent source (ethanol plant) of co-product
• Do not include high levels of S (>0.3%) until after the first 30 d
• Don’t forget to account for S from water
MANAGING Tough Times
Changing Rations 1995 Feedlot Ration
2010 Feedlot Ration
2015 Feedlot Ration?
----Percent of Dry Matter------
Corn 80 54 <30?
Distillers’ grains -- 35 >60?
Corn Silage 10 --
Dry Forage 5 10 ? (amnt, quality)
Supplement 5 1
Starch 60 38 0-20 (min?)
MANAGING Tough Times
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