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August 16, 2006 Store Wet Byproducts in Bags or Bunkers Wet feed should be stored in an oxygen-limited environment, such as bags or bunkers, during the summer to maintain its quality, North Dakota State University Extension Service dairy specialist J.W. Schroeder recommends. Wet byproducts, particularly corn gluten feed and distillers grains with solubles, are excellent feed supplements for cows and calves on forage, he says. Dairy producers also can use them to supplement lower-quality hay to provide the added energy and protein cows need for growth and milk production, especially in this year’s drought conditions. However, producers can include only limited amounts of wet feed in many diet formulations, which can lead to spoilage when they have a semi truckload of byproduct delivered to the farm in hot weather. “One way to make the most of wet feeds and improve handling is to combine other feedstuffs and wet byproducts into a storable feed,” Schroeder says. He and other NDSU researchers combined various grains and forages in minisilos to observe how they maintained their feed quality. The researchers found they needed to add adequate material, such as corn or grass hay, to avoid spoilage and improve handling of the wet feed. Their observations agree with those of other agricultural researchers, including those at the universities of Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska. Storage bags will accommodate just about every feed, according to Schroeder. However, wet feeds, such as distillers grain, can be a challenge, particularly if they are packed for storage alone. “In our experiments, we broke the bag, and you will, too, if you don't remove all the pressure and ensure the packing equipment can roll ahead of the pack,” he says. Nebraska researchers found in a large-scale trial that combining two loads of wet distillers grains with solubles and grass hay at 30 percent worked well when stored in bunkers, and resulted in using less bulk or storage space. However, making grass hay 40 percent of the mixture worked better, resulting in a better pack when using larger, heavier packing equipment. “Research results are limited, but practical experience provides a good place to start,” Schroeder says. “If you can adequately weigh and measure feeds and have a feed analysis of both the byproduct and the feedstuff, your estimate of the nutrient value of the mix should be fairly accurate. That’s the case as long as storage is sufficient to avoid spoilage and of the correct proportion to create a combination or casserolelike feed.” For more information, check out NDSU Extension publications AS-1180, “Byproducts and Regionally Available Alternative Feedstuffs for Dairy Cattle;” AS-1241, “Distillers Grains as a Protein and Energy Supplement for Dairy Cattle;” AS-1138, “Corn Gluten Feed for Dairy Cattle;” and AS-1282, “Weights and Measures of Common Feed.” All of them are available from your local NDSU Extension Service office. They also are available on the Web at www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/dairy.htm. ### Source:
J.W. Schroeder, (701) 231-7663, jschroed@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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