Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Synergies of Livestock & Ethanol

Perspectives from the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Common Interests/Questions

• Distillers grains value to cattle feeders.

• Feeding trends in the past.

• Impact on cost of ration.

• Outlook on distiller’s as a cattle feed resource in the future.

• Cattle industry changes due to availability.

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Distillers grains value to cattle feeders

• Historic Perspective– Cost effective corn replacement– Local availability

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Use of Domestically Produced DDGS

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ion

TO

NS

Historic ProjectedPreliminary

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Impact of distillers grains on rations/cost of production

8-16-2011

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Cattle Feeding was built on the assumption of corn as the low cost energy source

• Exceptions– Barley in Alberta– Milo (and corn) in the

panhandle– Potatoes (and corn) in

Idaho– Backgrounding yards

• Byproducts

• Homegrown forages

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

2011 Estimated Uses of DDGS

SOURCE: Dr. Robert Wisner, biofuels economist, Iowa State University

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Outlook for distillers grains feeding in future years

• Iowa = accessible feed and water

• Kernel Opportunity

• Producers will continue to use distillers grains in rations based on…– It’s ability to replace corn as cost effective energy

source in feedlot diets.– Available technology to include higher rates in diets.– Local accessibility

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

In Iowa, cheap corn and the competitive nature of cattle feeding has led to:

• Optimum rations have the highest level of grain that is biologically tolerable and manageable.– Most feedlot management and nutritional systems are built

around this assumption

• Optimum systems (Spring born calves) use minimal backgrounding, high grain finishing in hopes of marketing the cattle in 13-14 months (seasonal market highs)

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

Cattle industry changes due to availability of distillers grains.

• Corn-alternative energy source for feedlot rations

• Technology for higher inclusion rates

• Using the corn substitute– Gluten– Distillers– Modified crop residue

Growing Iowa’s Beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.

QUESTIONS