Products

Optimum nutrition of eachclass of livestock and poultryis of primary concern to thefeed manufacturer. Each of thecorn wet milled feed productscontributes different nutritionalcharacteristics to thefinished feed in which they areused. In general, the four majoringredients supplied byrefiners are classified as “proteinsupplements” accordingto the National ResearchCouncil. In addition to therange of total protein content,the four feedstuffs each havedifferent levels of various essentialamino acids, vitaminsand minerals.With numerous ingredients tochoose from, feed formulatorsgenerally use computer solutionsfor feed compoundingquestions. Information is enteredconcerning the nutritionalcharacteristics of eachavailable ingredient, its priceand availability. Then thenutritional needs of the animalbeing fed are entered. Thecomputer program recommendsa complete feed for theanimal, meeting all its nutritionalrequirements fromavailable ingredients. With theuse of computer modeling topredict nutrient requirements,nutrient management is improvedthrough less overfeeding,increased efficiency ofnutrient utilization, maximizedperformance and enhancedeconomic benefit.While much of today’sfeed formulation involveseconomic considerations,specific properties of severalwet milled feed products,aside from price, contributemuch to theirusage.Beef CattleRuminants, such as beefand dairy cattle and sheep,are unique as food producersin that they can combinecarbon skeletons,obtained from fermentationof cellulosicfeedstuffs, and nitrogenfrom other sources to producemeat, milk and wool.However, to maximizeefficiency of production,high producing dairy cowsand rapidly growing calvesrequire supplemental proteinwhich escapes ruminaldegradation and is digestedand absorbed in the smallintestine.Corn gluten meal wasfound to be an effectiveprotein source for beefcattle as early as 1933 1 .Corn gluten meal plusurea was equal to soybeanmeal in supporting growthof calves and lambs 2 . Corngluten meal was an effectivesubstitute for soybeanmeal when alternating dayprotein supplementationof cattle grazing cornstalks3 . Corn gluten meal isAPPLICATIONSOF WET MILLEDFEEDPRODUCTS11