Research finds dairy cow diets could safely include more DGs

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Kris Bevill
April 25, 2012

South Dakota State University research shows distillers grains (DGs) can comprise up to 20 percent of the diets (on a dry basis) for lactating dairy cows without negatively affecting milk production. Most dairy farmers currently use only about 10 percent of the ethanol coproduct in rations.

“Farmers tend to think that if they include distillers grains up to 20 percent they will see milk fat depression, but in our research, we could see that it is not the inclusion of distillers grains—it is the low level of forage in diets that causes the depression,” said SDSU doctoral student Sanjeewa Ranathunga.

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