Protein supplements, including distillers grain, will increase feed intake and nutrient use in backgrounded feeder cattle, a study confirms.
In research funded by the Beef Cattle Research Council, Agriculture Canada researchers Wenzhu Yang and Karen Beauchemin compared canola meal and wheat and corn distillers grain from a fractionation process.
They found that feeder cattle increased feed intake by 12 percent when fed barley-based feed that was supplemented by each of the four protein sources. Nutrient flow into the intestine increased by 14 percent.
“This indicates that several protein ingredients can be used effectively in the diets fed to backgrounded cattle to provide more nutrients to animals,” said a council fact sheet about the study.
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An experiment involving 200 crossbred steers tested response to the protein sources. It showed canola meal improved growth rate by 13 percent and feed efficiency by six percent.
By comparison, corn distillers grain and fractionated corn distillers grain improved growth by nine percent and feed efficiency by eight percent. Wheat improved growth rate by five percent and feed efficiency by two percent.
Yang said the study provided few surprises, although he found it interesting that even animals in the control group, without additional protein, performed well in terms of growth and efficiency.
“The conclusion that we can see is maybe corn DG is better than wheat DG,” he said, although differences were not wide.
Use in rations will depend primarily on cost and whether the benefits outweigh the expense. Wheat DG is typically cheaper than corn DG.
Yang said barley silage, the main component of most western Canadian feedlot rations, is typically about 12 percent protein. Backgrounding cattle need 13 to 14 percent protein for optimal performance, so protein supplementation is needed.
That prompted research into the best source for that protein.
“Optimizing protein formulation in the diet of growing beef cattle is one of the most effective and practical methods of improving feed conversion efficiency and growth performance,” said the council.
