By Neil Campbell, Gowans Feed Consulting
Summary
Canadian hog producers are starting to benefit from the rapidly expanding ethanol industry in the United States. As more of the new generation ethanol plants come online, the supply of corn DDGS is becoming more widely available. A recent feeding trial completed by Gowans Feed Consulting at a commercial research facility found that new generation corn DDGS can be successfully included in typical western Canadian feeder pig rations at a level as high as 25%. Depending on the cost of other major feed ingredients, corn DDGS may represent an opportunity ingredient for western Canadian hog producers to reduce feed costs.
Introduction
Distiller’s dried grain with solubles (DDGS) is a co-product of dry mill ethanol production from corn. In ethanol production, the starch is fermented to produce ethyl alcohol but the remaining component of the grain kernel (endosperm, germ) preserves much of the original nutritional value including energy, protein and phosphorus. Dry mill ethanol plants recover and recombine these components into DDGS.
In the United States, corn is the primary feedstock for dry mill ethanol production. Every bushel of grain used in the process produces 11.8 liters of ethanol and 7.7 kg of DDGS. The ethanol industry in the USA is expanding rapidly, resulting in a fast growing supply of DDGS. In January 2007, the Renewable Fuels Association reported that 112 operating dry mill ethanol plants have a combined capacity of 5.53 billion gallons of ethanol annually and that 83 more plants are either under construction or expanding which could result in another 6 billion gallons of production capacity in the next two years. DDGS production from these ethanol plants reached 8.5 million metric tonnes in 2006 and is expected to climb to 36 million tonnes by 2010.
Feeding corn DDGS to pigs
Historically, corn DDGS were primarily fed to ruminants because the quality was highly variable. Poor drying technologies often overheated the DDGS, reducing lysine digestibility and availability. As a result, inclusion of DDGS in swine diets was very limited. In recent years, there has been much advancement in corn milling technology and quality control. New generation ethanol plants have improved drying technology and operate at lower, more controlled, temperatures so the DDGS is not over-cooked. This has improved the quality of corn DDGS compared to what was available in the past.
An expanding market for ethanol in North America has increased the demand for corn and has also increased the costs of feed grains worldwide. Pork producers have been required to use alternative ingredients to keep feed costs low and operating costs competitive.
In the United States, the availability and inclusion of corn DDGS in hog diets is increasing. With expanding production of corn DDGS in the USA, more product is available for export to Canada. Gaining experience with feeding corn DDGS in typical western Canadian diets is important for hog producers to determine the value of corn DDGS for their operations.
Western Canada feeding trial
In May 2006 Gowans Feed Consulting, in collaboration with the United States Grain Council and Drumloche Farms, conducted a commercial research trial to determine the impact of feeding increasing levels of corn DDGS on the performance of grow finish pigs using western Canadian ingredients. A total of 1008 pigs (48 pens, 21 pigs/pen) were fed in the trial using 6 dietary treatments, with increasing levels of corn DDGS (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25%) included in the diet.
Click here to view Table 1
The DDGS used in the trial were sourced from a new generation ethanol plant in Atwater Minnesota. Nutrient analysis was provided by the source plant and corn DDGS samples were sent out for proximate analysis for each load. Pigs were weighed and feed disappearance was determined every 14 days.
Diets were fed in 3 phases (35-50, 50-70, and 70-90kg). Feed was weighed into feeders multiple times per day using a robotic Feed Logic feed delivery system. The diets used in the trial contained wheat, peas and canola meal and were formulated to an equal lysine to energy ratio within each phase.
Feed disappearance was similar for all dietary treatments in the trial (Figure 1) while growth rate for pigs fed corn DDGS increased as the level of corn DDGS in the diet increased (Figure 2). Feed efficiency improved as the level of DDGS in the diet increased (Figure 3). Backfat, loin depth, lean percent, and index were not influenced by feeding increasing levels of corn DDGS in the diet (Table 2).
The increase in growth rate and improvement in feed efficiency with increasing levels of corn DDGS in the diet was unexpected. The nutrient levels used for the corn DDGS for formulating the treatment diets may have underestimated its nutrient content (energy). The higher nutrient levels supplied with increasing corn DDGS levels in the diet (energy intake) resulted in the higher growth rate and better feed: gain.
Based on the results of this trial, feeding corn DDGS from this new generation ethanol plant can be included up to 25% of the diet with similar biological performance when it is included with traditional Western Canadian ingredients.
Economics of feeding US corn DDGS in western Canadian
The margin over feed cost was not significantly different for the control vs. the corn DDGS diets at the time of the trial. However, increasing ethanol production and projected lower prices of corn DDGS is creating an opportunity for western Canadian hog producers to reduce feed costs. Producers in areas such as southern Manitoba currently have easy access to low cost US corn DDGS and are taking advantage of feed cost savings at current market prices.
Recommendations and cautions for feeding corn DDGS
Pig producers and feed manufacturers should be cautioned that variation in nutrient composition exists in DDGS among ethanol manufacturers and within individual ethanol plants because of the variation in the source ingredient, drying and other manufacturing processes. This variation can negatively impact animal performance.
Feed manufacturers and hog producers feeding corn DDGS need to ensure that the source plants can deliver a high quality product consistently. Representative samples and nutrient analysis should be obtained prior to purchasing from ethanol plants. Formulations should be based on the nutrient specifications of the individual source plants. In-house inspection procedures at delivery including colour (dark colour may indicate over heating), odour (a burnt smell may indicate over heating) and particle size are important steps in an ingredient quality assurance program. Routine assays to ensure that accurate nutrient values for DDGS are being used in diet formulation and routine mycotoxin testing to ensure that levels are well below cautionary levels are also recommended precautions
Click here to view dried distillers grains
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