New distillers grains resource published

The Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research and Information Center at Iowa State University has published a 260-page book on using distillers grains, which are produced by corn-based ethanol plants as a feed ingredient for livestock and poultry.

The book, Using Distillers Grains in the U.S. and International Livestock and Poultry Industries, is available free online by clicking here.

The book was edited by three economic professors at Iowa State - Bruce Babcock, Dermot Hayes and John Lawrence - but contains important contributions by a number of animal scientists, including several from the University of Nebraska.

Chapters cover nutrition and live animal performance of beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine and poultry when fed distillers grains or DDGS. Storage, shelf life and transportation issues are included, as are new technologies on the horizon and challenges remaining in the use of distillers grains. Two chapters discuss the trade value of U.S. distiller grains in small and large international markets.

With economists at the helm, of course there is a chapter on ingredient value and cost. It includes an online calculator program.

Similar information is provided by the Nebraska Corn Board in its collection of corn co-product manuals. For a post on the Storage of Wet Corn Co-Products publication, click here. For copies of that, as well as the Utilization of Corn Co-Products in the Dairy Industry and the Utilization of Corn Co-Products in the Beef Industry, click here. All are a tremendous resource.