Renewable Energy and Manure Management Research Site Logo
ARS Home About Us Helptop nav spacerContact Us En Espanoltop nav spacer
Printable VersionPrintable Version E-mail this pageE-mail this page
Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture
Search
  Advanced Search
Programs and Projects
 

Research Project: UTILIZING DRIED DISTILLER'S GRAINS AS PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT TO CATTLE CONSUMING LOW-QUALITY FORAGE AND RAPID ANALYSIS USING NIRS

Location: Renewable Energy and Manure Management Research

Project Number: 6209-31630-002-23
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 01, 2007
End Date: Sep 30, 2010

Objective:
The objectives of this cooperative research project are to determine the value of dried distiller's grains as a protein supplement to cattle consuming low-quality forage, compared to more commonly used byproducts (i.e., cottonseed meal) by the effects on beef cow performance, forage intake, and nutrient digestion. To develop rapid and reliable methods to determine the nutritive value of wet and dried distiller's grains.

Approach:
Two studies will be conducted. In the first study 11 ruminally cannulated steers will be used in an 11 x 5 incomplete latin square with 11 treatments and five periods to determine the effect of increasing supplementation with either dried distiller's grain or cottonseed meal on intake and digestion of low-quality forage. Treatments will be an unsupplemented control and dried distiller's grains or cottonseed meal at 0.025, 0.050, 0.075, 0.10 or 0.125% of body weight as crude protein. Fecal output, ruminal characteristics (ammonia, volatile fatty acid concentrations), and plasma urea nitrogen will be measured. The quantity of distiller's grains that optimizes forage intake and digestion will be determined. In the second study, 80 beef cows will be used to evaluate the use of dried distiller's grains as a supplemental protein for low-quality forages. Cows will be assigned to one of four levels of distiller's grains 0.00, 0.04, 0.08 and 0.120% of body weight as crude protein. Changes in cow weight and body condition score will be determined at intervals before and after calving, until weaning. Calves will be weighed at birth and at weaning. We propose to use near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to rapidly and reliably determine nutritive value of distiller's grains.

   

 
Project Team
Cole, Noel - Andy
Clark, Ray - Nolan
 
Project Annual Reports
  FY 2008
 
Related National Programs
  Air Quality (203)
  Manure and Byproduct Utilization (206)
  Water Availability and Water Management (211)
 
 
Last Modified: 11/07/2008
ARS Home | USDA.gov | Site Map | Policies and Links 
FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Privacy Policy | Nondiscrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | White House