Comparing Dry, Wet, or Modified Distillers Grains Plus Solubles on Feedlot Cattle Performance

Crossbred, yearling steers (n = 440; 778 ± 42 lb) were utilized in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were arranged in a 3 x 3 + 1 factorial treatment structure, with three types of distillers grains (DG), three inclusions of DG (20%, 30%, or 40% diet DM), and a negative corn-based control (CON). Steers were blocked by BW, stratified within block, and assigned randomly to pen (55 pens; 8 steers/pen). Pens were assigned randomly to one of 10 treatments. The CON treatment was repeated within replication (10 replications), whereas all other treatments had 5 replications. Basal ingredients consisted of a high-moisture and dry-rolled corn blend (HMC:DRC) fed at a 60:40 ratio (DM basis), 15% corn silage, and 5% dry supplement (DM basis; Table 1). Distillers grains replaced HMC:DRC. Steers were adapted to the finishing diet by feeding 37.5%, 27.5%, 17.5%, and 7.5% alfalfa hay (DM basis), replaced with HMC:DRC for 3, 4, 7, and 7 days, respectively. The supplements for diets containing 20% DG contained urea at 0.47% of the diet to ensure there was not a deficiency in degradable intake protein. All diets were formulated to provide a minimum of 13.0% CP, 0.6% Ca, 0.25% P, and 0.6% K. Supplements for all diets were formulated to provide 360 mg/steer daily of monensin (Rumensin, Elanco Animal Health), 90 mg/ steer daily of tylosin (Tylan, Elanco Animal Health), and 150 mg of thiamine per steer daily. Brandon L. Nuttelman Will A. Griffin Josh R. Benton Galen E. Erickson Terry J. Klopfenstein1