Livestock Sector Use of Distillers Grains, a Coproduct of Ethanol Production
Cattlenetwork.com
With the expansion of the U.S. ethanol industry and higher prices for corn, a reduced share of the corn crop is used directly for domestic livestock feeding. However, a coproduct of ethanol production, distillers grains, may substitute for corn in some livestock rations, particularly for beef and dairy cattle. Cattle feedlots located close to an ethanol plant will benefit from a steady supply of distillers grains.
Meanwhile, distillers grains are less suitable in poultry and hog rations. The divergent effects of ethanol expansion on the different categories of livestock and in different regions of the country could result in structural changes in some parts of the U.S. livestock sector. For each 56-pound bushel of corn used in the production of ethanol, about 17.5 pounds of dried distillers grains are produced.
The use of distillers grains in livestock feeding and their overall substitution for direct corn feed use in the projections reflect a number of important underlying assumptions.
