Cody J. Schneider

Rumen bacterial communities can be acclimated faster to high concentrate diets than currently implemented feedlot programs

Recent studies have demonstrated RAMP®, a complete starter feed, to have beneficial effects for animal performance. However, how RAMP may elicit such responses is unknown. To understand if RAMP adaptation results in changes in the rumen bacterial community that can potentially affect animal performance, we investigated the dynamics of rumen bacterial community composition in corn‐adapted and RAMP‐adapted cattle.

Effects of grind size when alkaline treating corn residue and impact of ratio of alkaline-treated residue and distillers grains on performance of finishing cattle.

Two studies were conducted to optimize use of alkaline-treated corn stover and wheat straw and distillers grains as partial corn replacements. In Exp. 1, a finishing experiment used 30 pens (12 steers/pen) of calf-fed steers (initial BW = 374 ± 23.9 kg) with a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial arrangement of treatments with 6 replications per treatment. Factors were grind size, where corn stover was processed through a 2.54- or 7.62-cm screen, and chemical treatment (corn stover either fed in native, non-treated form [NT; 93.4% DM] or alkaline treated [AT; 5% CaO hydrated to 50% DM]). No interactions (P ≥ 0.38) were noted between grind size and chemical treatment. Feeding AT compared with NT improved (P ≤ 0.02) final BW, ADG, and G:F. Reducing grind size improved (P ≤ 0.01) ADG and G:F, and no interaction with chemical treatment was observed. Steers fed AT had similar DMI, ADG, G:F, and carcass characteristics compared with a 5% roughage control that contained 15 percentage units (DM basis) more corn. In Exp. 2, 60 individually fed steers (initial BW = 402 ± 61.4 kg) were randomly assigned to 10 diets. Six treatments evaluated 10, 25, or 40% dry-rolled corn (DRC), which was replaced with either a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio (DM basis) of modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS) and treated corn stover analyzed as a 2 × 3 factorial. An additional 3 treatments were added where a 3:1 ratio of MDGS:straw were compared with a 3:1 ratio of MDGS:stover. As DRC increased, G:F (P = 0.06) quadratically increased for 3:1 MDGS:stover diets. Increasing DRC increased (P = 0.07) G:F in treated stover diets, regardless of ratio. Increasing DRC increased (P = 0.10) ADG for 3:1 ratios for both straw and stover. Reducing grind size, feeding a maximum of 20% treated crop residue, and maintaining at least 25% corn in the diet are strategies for optimizing cattle performance when replacing dry-rolled and high-moisture corn with treated crop residues and distillers grains.

Finishing performance and diet digestibility for feedlot steers fed corn distillers grains plus solubles and distillers solubles with and without oil extraction1

Three experiments evaluated the effects of corn oil removal using centrifugation in ethanol plants, on animal performance and digestion characteristics by finishing cattle fed by-products. In Exp. 1, 225 crossbred steers (300 ± 9.1 kg) were utilized in a randomized block design with a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors consisted of oil concentration [de-oiled (DO) or full fat (FF)] and by-product type [condensed distillers solubles (CDS) or modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS)] compared to a corn-based control. Fat concentration was 6.0% for DO CDS, 21.1% for FF CDS, 9.2% for DO MDGS, and 11.8% for FF MDGS. No oil concentration by by-product type interactions (P ≥ 0.17) were observed. There were no differences in DMI, ADG, or G:F between DO and FF CDS (P ≥ 0.29) or DO and FF MDGS (P ≥ 0.58). No differences (P ≥ 0.25) due to oil concentration were observed for carcass characteristics. Experiment 2 was a 5 × 5 Latin Square digestion trial with treatments similar to Exp. 1. Fat concentration was 8.7% or 15.4% for DO or FF CDS and 9.2% or 12.3% for DO or FF MDGS. Intake and total tract digestibility of fat were greater (P ≤ 0.02) for FF CDS compared with DO CDS. Digestible energy (megacalorie per kilogram), adjusted for intake, was greater (P = 0.02) for steers fed FF CDS compared to DO CDS. Average ruminal pH for cattle fed FF MDGS was greater than DO MDGS (P = 0.06). In Exp. 3, 336 yearling, crossbred steers (352 ± 19 kg) were utilized in a randomized block design with a 2 × 3 + 1 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors included oil concentration (DO or FF) and inclusion [35%, 50%, and 65% wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS)] along with a corn-based control. The fat concentrations of DO and FF WDGS were 7.9% and 12.4%, respectively. A linear interaction (P < 0.01) was observed for DMI, which produced different slopes for DO and FF WDGS. No linear or quadratic interactions were observed for BW, ADG, or G:F (P ≥ 0.31). For the main effect of oil concentration, there were no statistical differences (P > 0.19) for final BW, ADG, or G:F. No statistical differences were observed for all carcass traits (P ≥ 0.34). Corn oil removal via centrifugation had minimal impact on finishing performance suggesting that cattle fed DO by-products will have similar performance to cattle fed FF by-products in dry-rolled and high-moisture corn diets.

Use of a complete starter feed in grain adaptation programs for feedlot cattle

Four experiments evaluated the use of a complete starter feed (RAMP; Cargill Corn Milling, Blair, NE) for grain adaptation. In Exp. 1, 229 yearling steers (397 ± 28.4 kg BW) were used to compare a traditional adaptation program (CON) with adapting cattle with RAMP in either a 1- (RAMP-1RS) or 2- (RAMP-2RS) ration system. From d 23 to slaughter, cattle were fed a common finishing diet. In Exp. 2, 390 yearling steers (341 ± 14 kg BW) were used to compare accelerated grain adaptation programs with RAMP with 2 control treatments where RAMP was blended with a finishing diet containing either 25 (CON25) or 47.5% (CON47) Sweet Bran (Cargill Corn Milling) in 4 steps fed over 24 d to adapt cattle. Rapid adaptation treatments involved feeding RAMP for 10 d followed by a blend of RAMP and a 47% Sweet Bran finishing diet to transition cattle with 3 blends fed for 1 d each (3-1d), 2 blends fed for 2 d each (2-2d), or 1 blend fed for 4 d (1-4d). From d 29 to slaughter, all cattle were fed a common finishing diet. In Exp. 3, 300 steer calves (292 ± 21 kg BW) were used to compare the CON47 and 1-4d adaptation programs with directly transitioning cattle from RAMP, which involved feeding RAMP for 10 d and then switching directly to F1 on d 11 (1-STEP). From d 29 until slaughter, F2 was fed to all cattle. In Exp. 4, 7 ruminally fistulated steers (482 ± 49 kg BW) were used in a 35-d trial to compare the CON47 and 1-STEP adaptation programs. Ruminal pH and intake data from the first 6 d of F1and first 6 d of F2 were used to compare adaptation systems. Adaptation with RAMP-1RS and RAMP-2RS increased ( < 0.01) G:F compared with cattle adapted using CON in Exp. 1. Feeding RAMP-1RS increased ADG ( = 0.03) compared with CON. Intakes were similar ( = 0.39) among treatments. Daily gain, DMI, G:F, and carcass traits were similar ( > 0.11) among treatments in Exp. 2. Daily gain, DMI, and G:F were not different ( > 0.20) among treatments on d 39 or over the entire feeding period in Exp. 3. When F1 or F2 was being fed, DMI was similar ( ≥ 0.40) for CON47 and 1-STEP in Exp. 4. When F1 or F2 was being fed, 1-STEP cattle had lower average ruminal pH ( ≤ 0.03) and greater time below a pH of 5.3 ( ≤ 0.03). Using RAMP for grain adaptation improved performance compared with traditional adaptation. Rapid adaptation with RAMP decreased pH, but no performance differences were observed between long and rapid RAMP adaptation programs. Therefore, cattle started on RAMP do not require extensive adaptation before feeding a finishing diet with Sweet Bran.

Effects of spoilage of wet distillers grains plus solubles when stored in a bunker on nutrient composition and performance of growing and finishing cattle1

ABSTRACT Three experiments evaluated the effect of spoilage of wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS) on nutrient composition and cattle performance. In Exp. 1, a 140-d barrel storage study was conducted to simulate bunker storage. An interaction between days of storage and DM, OM, and NDF recovered at the surface in spoiled material was observed. In Exp. 2, a 130-d finishing experiment used 60 individually fed steers fed 3 treatments: a dry-rolled corn–based diet (control) and 2 diets containing 40% WDGS replacing dry-rolled corn. The WDGS was stored in either an uncovered bunker (spoiled) or anaerobically in a silo bag (non-spoiled). Calculations suggest 12% of DM was lost while stored in the bunker. No differences in performance (P ≥ 0.26) were observed between WDGS treatments. However, both WDGS treatments were greater (P ≤ 0.04) in ADG, final BW, and G:F than the dry-rolled-corn diet. In Exp. 3, an 84-d growing experiment used 60 individually fed steers in a 2 × 2 factorial. Treatments were spoiled versus nonspoiled WDGS fed at 15 or 40% (DM basis). Calculations suggest that 6.0% of DM was lost while stored in the bunker. Feeding spoiled WDGS decreased DMI (P