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January 021, 2024
By Barb Bierman Batie
Cattle Eat That?
Corn by-products, such as wet gluten and
distillers’ grains, can be an alternative energy feed source for
cattle.
Photo courtesy of Kansas State University
While the common food source for
cattle in Nebraska are the 23 million acres of rangelands, ruminants
can also consume and convert many by-products, co-products and waste
products that might otherwise end up in the landfill.
At the recent Herd That! Conference in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a
Panhandle Research and Extension Center associate professor, discussed
what types of by-products can supplement traditional pasture and
feedlot diets.
Dr. Karla Wilke, who serves as a range management and cow-calf
specialist, had participants identify 14 different items and asked,
“Can these be used as cattle feed?”
Everything from cotton screenings to dried beet pulp to potatoes and
cookies can and have been used in cattle diets across the state, the
country and around the world, explained Wilke.
Workshop participants walk around a table hoping
they can identify the 14 by-products, co-products and waste products
displayed and also decide whether they are safe for cattle to eat. In
the end all have been used a feed alternatives, with soybeans and
field peas able to be used in moderation with a balanced ration.
Midwest Messenger photo by Barb Bierman Batie
“In the United States 40% of edible food is wasted every year with 34
million tons going into the landfill. This accounts for 20% of U.S.
methane emissions. Feeding allowable food waste to livestock can
reduce livestock production costs and greenhouse gas emissions,” she
noted.
Cattle are the ultimate upcyclers, said Wilke:
“People cannot digest grass. Ruminants convert rangelands into
protein, energy, vitamins and minerals that people can utilize.”
In the same way they can take waste products and
convert them into high quality protein. Among those items are sugar
beet pulp, a by-product of the sugar production industry; citrus
pulp, a by-product of citrus juice production, and vegetables that
start to spoil or are surplus.
A common co-product used in Nebraska are distiller’s
grains, a co-product of the ethanol (biofuel) industry. Crop
residues are also popular in the Cornhusker state, such as corn and
soybean stover, even wheat or oat straw. These are often mixed in
feedlot rations to provide needed roughage for the ruminants.
These and other feedstuffs can help further reduce
methane emissions, something the cattle industry has been working to
reduce through increased efficiency.
“In the last 50 years, beef production in the U.S.
has increased by 25%, but cattle on feed has decreased by 6%,” Wilke
said. “Fewer cattle producing more beef means less methane. Feeding
corn in finishing diets reduces overall methane production. Overall,
the carbon footprint of cattle production has decreased 18% since
the 1970s.”
In addition, a recent study by the Environmental
Protection Agency reported livestock and feed production combined
represents only 3.9% of greenhouse gases in the U.S. with
transportation, power production, and other industries contributing
80%.
So, when the post-Halloween pumpkins are shriveled
into gruesome grimaces or stores and bakeries must dispose of broken
or expired cookies, a possible alternative to sending them to a
landfill or left to rot in a field is feeding them to cattle. An
environmental win-win, Wilke said.
Dr. Karla Wilke from the
University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center leads a
discussion about alternative feedstuffs for cattle during a session at
the recent Herd That! Conference.
Midwest Messenger photo by Barb Bierman Batie
Barb Bierman Batie can be reached at editorial@midwestmessenger.com.
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