Nutrition Research at Ridgetown

Paul H. Luimes, Ph.D.

Can Corn Silage be a Part of a Profitable Feeder Lamb Nutrition Program?

2010-2011

Can corn silage be profitable?Component Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM basis)

0% CS 25% CS 50% CS

Corn silage 0.0% ( 0.0%)

44.8% (25.0%)

71.0% (50.0%)

Corn grain 30.4% (30.0%)

15.4% (20.6%)

6.7% ( 11.3%)

Mixed grain 50.2% (50.0%)

25.4% (34.4%)

11.0% ( 18.8%)

Protein supplement A*

19.4% (20.0%)

7.2% (10.0%)

0.0% ( 0.0%)

Protein supplement B*

0.0% ( 0.0%)

7.2% (10.0%)

11.4% (20.0%)

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Cost/tonne $311.81 $219.61 $165.72

Protein supplements supplied by Floradale Feed MillSupplement A – “off the shelf” product (34.25% CP, 61.72% TDN)Supplement B – “custom made” product (41.1% CP, 65.30% TDN)

Feeding

Average lamb weight (lbs).

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1065

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

0% CS 25% CS 50% CS

Week

Lam

b W

eig

ht,

lb

s

Performance from 70 to 105 lbs

   

Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM basis)

0% CS 25% CS 50% CS

average daily gain lb/d 0.71a 0.67a 0.46b

feed intake (dry matter) lb/d 3.11a 2.99a 2.54b

feed intake (as fed) lb/d 3.48a 4.55b 4.88c

days to market1 d 49.3 52.2 76.1feed (dry matter) to gain   4.43a 4.54a 6.08b

feed cost/lb gain2 $/lb $0.703a $0.689a $0.878b

a,bNumbers across rows with a different superscript are different (p < 0.10).1Values calculated based on other values presented in table2Feed cost was calculated based on corn silage costing $65/tonne, corn grain costing $260/tonne, mixed grain costing $255/tonne and the protein supplement costing on average $595/tonne

Ration Analysis (on DM basis)

 

Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM basis)

0% CS 25% CS 50% CS

Crude protein (CP) 16.4% 16.4% 16.4%Total digestible nutrients (TDN) 79.0% 77.1% 75.2%

Additional notes

•4 lambs on the 50% CS treatment died▫1 rectal prolapse▫3 listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes)

•Management will require more attention with corn silage▫Harvesting▫Storage▫Bunk

So would I feed corn silage to lambs?•Maybe…if…

▫Around 25% inclusion A bit more if I wanted to slow lambs down for

a market (like a late Easter)▫I had they system already in place to do so

If I was already feeding it to my ewes Not worth decreasing automation over

▫I’d keep some beef cattle around for “clean up” Keep fresher feed in lamb/ewe bunks At least get some return for “wasted” feed

So would I feed corn silage to lambs?

• Say I brought in ▫ 70 lb lambs▫ on February 1,

2011 • And raised them

▫ on the 3 diets▫ to 105 lbs

• As long as death loss is kept under control!

Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM basis)

0% CS 25% CS 50% CS

End date Mar. 22 Mar. 25 Apr. 18

Total feed cost

$24.61 $24.12 $30.73

Diff - -$0.49 $6.13

Lamb value on end date*

$234.71 $234.71 $245.04

Diff - - $10.33

*calculated from OSMA market reports

Feeding Dried Distillers’ Grains with Solubles to Market Lambs2012

DDGSFirst of all…what is corn? Encyclopedia Britannica

• Starch 72.6%• Oil 4.3%• Protein 9.8%• NDF 9.0%• Minerals 1.6%

Basic ProcessCorn

GroundCooked

Fermentation

Digested(“Liquifaction”

)

Distillation

Centrifugation

Distillers’ Grains

Wet Condensed Solubles

CO2

DDGS

Ethanol

Modified ProcessCorn

GroundCooked

Fermentation

Digested(“Liquifaction”

)

Distillation

Centrifugation

Distillers’ Grains

Wet Condensed Solubles

CO2Ethano

l

De-oiled WCS

De-oiled DDGS

Corn Oil

Commodity $/tonne 0% DDGS 15% DDGS 30% DDGS

Corn $300 25.5% 25.5% 25.5%

Mixed grain1

$314 42.5% 42.5% 42.5%

Soybean meal

$450 16.7% 8.3% 0.0%

Oat hulls $240 13.3% 6.7% 0.0%

DDGS $235 0.0% 15.0% 30.0%

Premix2 $1,100 2.0% 2.0% 2.0%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Cost/tonne $339.01 $320.62 $302.44

How much DDGS can we feed profitably?

1 Mixed grain is barley and oats at 50%:50% mix2 Premix supplied by KenPal Farm Products Inc.

Average lamb weights, lb

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1065

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

0% DDGS 15% DDGS 30% DDGS

Week

Weig

ht,

lbs

Percentage DDGS in Ration

0% DDGS 15% DDGS 30% DDGS

Average daily gain

lb/d 0.78 0.80 0.71

Feed intake lb/d 3.60a 3.54a 3.13b

Days to market1 d 51.3 50.0 56.3

Feed to gain 4.79 4.56 4.62

Feed cost/lb gain2 $/lb $0.769a $0.693b $0.664b

Performance from 70 to 110 lbs

a,bNumbers across rows with a different superscript are different (p < 0.10).1Values calculated based on other values presented in table2Feed cost was calculated based on feed costing from previous slide

Percentage DDGS in Ration

0% DDGS 15% DDGS 30% DDGS

Dry Matter 88.9% 88.8% 89.5%

Crude Protein 18.8% 16.1% 15.6%

Total Digestible Nutrients

85.9% 84.4% 86.8%

Acid Detergent Fibre 11.0% 12.6% 9.9%

Neutral Detergent Fibre 20.1% 23.9% 23.9%

Calcium 1.00% 0.90% 0.82%

Phosphorus 0.46% 0.45% 0.44%

Ration Analysis

There is a fair amount of error associated with these numbers.

At the start…

At market…

At market…

•No death losses•Typical illnesses

▫Some pink-eye▫Some coughing

Challenges

•Feed was offered as textured feed▫Lambs consumed corn, barley and oats first▫Consumed ground feed (soybean

meal/DDGS/premix) later▫Sorting of soybean meal was not as

noticeable as sorting of DDGS•Most of the time the refusals were almost

exclusively ground feed▫Targeted around 5-10% refusals▫Actual was around 12.5%

Bunk Management

Sorting

At feeding Approx. 8 hrs after feeding

0% DDGS 15% DDGS 30% DDGS

Feed offered, lbs/d 4.13 4.13 3.65

Feed refused, lbs/d 0.53 0.58 0.52

Feed intake, lbs/d 3.60 3.55 3.13

Average daily gain, lbs/d 0.78 0.80 0.71

Estimated sorting None Some Considerable

CP offered, %1 17.0 17.0 17.0

CP refused, %2 17.0 22.0 27.0

CP offered, lbs/d 0.702 0.702 0.621

CP refused, lbs/d 0.090 0.128 0.140

CP intake, lbs/d 0.612 0.575 0.480

Some thoughts on refusals*…

1Calculated2Assuming estimated sorting *On a per lamb basis

• Absolutely▫ If I could do “tight” bunk management

I’d feed at least 30%▫ If I was feeding ad lib (like hog feeders)

I might drop it a bit to 15% Or pellet it

• At $4.20 savings per lamb (70-110 lbs), not feeding DDGS is a missed opportunity

• Since lambs are refusing expensive protein, could we improve gains or make it cheaper by pelleting?

So would I feed DDGS?

Does Pelleting Lamb Feed Improve Efficiency Cost Effectively?2013

To “requirements” High CP

0% DDGS 0% DDGS 30% DDGS

not pelleted

pelleted not pelleted

pelleted not pelleted

pelleted

Corn 32.2% 22.2% 25.5% 15.5% 25.5% 15.5%

Barley 28.0% 28.0% 21.35% 21.35% 21.35% 21.35%

Oats 28.0% 28.0% 21.35 21.35 21.35% 21.35%

Wheat 10.0% 10.0% 10.0%

Soybean meal

3.0% 3.0% 10.0% 10.0%

DDGS 30.0% 30.0%

Wheat shorts

7.0% 7.0% 20.0 20.0

Premix 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0%

Limestone

0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

$/tonne $373.00 $383.00 $386.50 $396.50 $378.00 $388.00Premixes, feeds and pelleting supplied by B-W Feed and Seed, New Hamburg, ON

The treatments

•Form▫Pellet vs. Non-Pellet

•Content▫Low CP (SBM)▫High CP (SBM)▫High CP (DDGS)

PerformanceForm Content

Non-Pellet Pellet Low CP (SBM)

High CP (SBM)

High CP (DDGS)

Average daily feed intake (lb/d)

3.36x 3.46y 3.31a 3.49b 3.42ab

Average daily gain (lb/d)

0.75x 0.76x 0.70a 0.76ab 0.82b

Days to market* 60 59 64 60 55

Feed to gain ratio 5.07x 5.03x 5.32a 5.15a 4.67b

Feed $/lb of gain $0.81x $0.82x $0.84a $0.85a $0.75b

*Calculated based on 45 lb gain

Ration Analysis

Form Content

Non-Pellet Pellet Low CP (SBM)

High CP (SBM)

High CP (DDGS)

Dry matter 86.7%x 86.9%x 87.1%a 86.3%b 87.0%a

Crude protein

13.1%x 13.8%x 11.3%a 14.1%b 14.9%b

TDN 81.9%x 82.7%x 83.4%a 82.5%a 81.1%a

NDF 18.0%x 19.2%y 16.9%a 17.6%a 21.2%b

ADF 8.5%x 8.3%x 8.1%a 7.5%a 9.5%b

Calcium 0.56%x 0.55%x 0.50%a 0.58%a 0.59%a

Phosphorus

0.41%x 0.45%y 0.37%a 0.45%a 0.48%b

Ca:P 1.36%x 1.22%x 1.35%a 1.29%a 1.24%a

Feed bunks…

Issues

•Completed in two groups▫Group 1

No major issues One lamb was euthanized after a physical

injury▫Group 2

Many lambs suffered from chronic lung infection

Early struggle with coccidiosis Some deworming failure

Detected by FAMACHA

A few points of consideration

•Assumed all feeds were purchased (non-pelleted as well as pelleted)▫This artificially raised cost of non-pelleted

ration•Used fixed number of feeds (other feeds

could be available especially for pelleted ration)▫This artificially raised cost of pelleted

ration

So would I pellet feed?

•I would formulate my concentrate ▫Assuming not pelleting

Limiting available ingredients Use home grown grains

▫Assuming pelleting Using full number of available ingredients Both using and not using home grown grains

•Is pelleted ration is within $10 more per tonne of non-pelleted ration ▫Yes? Then “yes” I’d pellet▫No? Depends on labour savings potential

Protein level

•It appears the NRC targeted levels for growing lambs may be too low for protein▫0.70 vs. 0.79 lb/d (low vs. avg. high)

•But higher levels (of same ingredient) were no cheaper per lb of gain▫0.84 vs. $0.85 per lb of gain

•Is optimal in the middle somewhere?▫I don’t know

Cost of disease

•I cannot determine this statistically so it is only an estimate to illustrate▫$0.23/lb▫For 65 to 110 lb this means $10.35/lamb

•Not including▫Medicine▫Dead lambs▫Frustration

BUY/KEEP THEM HEALTHY

DDGS

•Once again feeding DDGS is profitable▫$0.10/lb ~ $4.50 per lamb▫Very close to same savings as last time

DDGS value $/tonne = (0.5417 x corn $/tonne) + (0.4344 x soybean $/tonne)

 

Corn $ 125

$ 150

$ 175

$ 200

$ 225

$ 250

$ 275

Soybean

Meal

$ 525

$ 296

$ 309

$ 323

$ 336

$ 350

$ 364

$ 377

$ 550

$ 307

$ 320

$ 334

$ 347

$ 361

$ 374

$ 388

$ 575

$ 318

$ 331

$ 345

$ 358

$ 372

$ 385

$ 399

$ 600

$ 328

$ 342

$ 355

$ 369

$ 383

$ 396

$ 410

$ 625

$ 339

$ 353

$ 366

$ 380

$ 393

$ 407

$ 420

$ 650

$ 350

$ 364

$ 377

$ 391

$ 404

$ 418

$ 431

$ 675

$ 361

$ 375

$ 388

$ 402

$ 415

$ 429

$ 442

•Funding▫OSMA and FIP

•Lambs▫Wicketthorn Livestock

•Feed▫Agribrands Purina Ltd.▫Floradale Feed Mill Ltd.▫KenPal Farm Products Inc.▫B-W Feed and Seed Ltd.▫Greenfield Ethanol

•Collaboration▫Ridgetown Campus Sheep Advisory Group▫Shepherds

Acknowledgements

Future Directions

•OSMA (FIP) - funded▫Ewe feed efficiency (preliminary trial)

Breeding, gestation, lactation feed vs. lb of weaned lamb

•OMAF - applied▫Lamb feed trials▫Ewe feed efficiency▫Pasture efficiency

Questions?

Paul Luimes519-674-1500 x63550pluimes@uoguelph.ca