Feeding ethanol byproducts to livestock is all the rage these days, but some producers have been quietly using them for years without a fuss.
Dairy producer Bill Van Rootselaar of Fort Macleod, Alta., has used dried distillers grain (DDG) for a number of years and finds it to be a useful supplement.
“We have never seen anything really negative from it,” said Van Rootselaar, who raises dairy and beef cattle.
He does not feed DDG to his beef cattle because it isn’t economical, but DDG derived from rye, corn and wheat makes up eight to 10 percent of a finished ration for his milking cows.
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Corn is the most consistent product, which Van Rootselaar likes because it provides good protein with four essential amino acids required in a dairy diet.
Albert Kamps of Lacombe, Alta., uses wheat DDG in a prepared ration at around eight to 10 percent and said it has never been a big deal. Ethanol has been produced for years, he added, and the byproducts have been available for a century.
“There are a thousand uses for ethanol other than car fuel,” he said.
Kamps expects the cost of DDG will drop and more producers will find it cost efficient in rations.
Nevertheless, increased biofuel production in the United States is shaking up the livestock industry as more grain is diverted to ethanol and away from feed, said University of Lethbridge economist Kurt Klein. The biggest fear may be the unknown.
“The ethanol frenzy in the U.S. will have a larger impact in Canada than federal and provincial government programs for biofuels,” he said at the Alberta Beef Producers annual meeting in Calgary Dec. 10.
He is pessimistic about the consequences of biofuel and its impact on Canadian agriculture.
The livestock industry may shrink or production may move to new locations to take advantage of cheaper feed.
Livestock production moved west when Canadian grain transportation subsidy programs ended, he said. Under the new conditions it could move south.
“We do not have a clue what might happen to changes in production.”
No Canadian economic models have been built to analyze the consequences, although Iowa State University has been studying the American impacts.
Higher grain and oilseed prices for livestock producers are inevitable because with current use and more plants under construction, demand for grain will double at a time when stocks are at an all time low, he said.
World carryover of corn is at 57 days of consumption, the lowest level since 1974. Normally there are about 100 days in stock.
Klein’s research on the Lethbridge feed market showed Dec. 3 corn increased 48 percent from a quote of $2.64 a bushel in May 2006. Barley is now at $193 per tonne, up 62 percent from May 2006.
