Feeders explore implications of low-fat distillers grains

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Kris Bevill January 10, 2012

The cost to remove corn oil from distillers grains (DGs) is high, but even so, an increasing number of ethanol producers are expected to begin extracting the valuable product from DGs in the coming year as they seek out additional revenue sources from the ethanol production process. As a result, more of the DGs sold to livestock, swine and poultry feeders will have reduced levels of fat, a consequence that could be good or bad for animal producers, depending on the animal type.

Grant Crawford, a University of Minnesota beef extension educator, said some livestock producers could benefit from DGs with reduced oil/fat content. “In some cases, the fat content has limited the use of distillers grains, especially in feedlot rations, because we have a threshold of how much fat we can feed to cattle in feedlots before we start reducing animal performance,” he said. “Reducing the fat might be a positive thing and could allow us to feed higher levels. The downside of that is fat contains 2.25 times as much energy per gram than protein or carbohydrates, so we’re losing energy content potentially, but we’re also gaining the ability to feed greater amounts.” If the fat content of DGs remains between 8 and 10 percent (traditional DGs contain between 10 and 12 percent fat), Crawford said the product could continue to be a valuable feedstuff for livestock producers, allowing them to use greater amounts without requiring supplemental high-fat feeds.

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