By Nick Paulson
The Dalhart, TX, feedlot owner has moved entirely to crop residue treated with Second Crop, a new process from Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). His operation, Kabil Cattle Company, grows cattle to feeder weight, raises replacement heifers and also runs a cow-calf operation.
Weight gains are up half a pound and cost of gain is down 10¢/lb/day since he began using the slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) treatment that’s supposed to improve the digestibility and nutritional value of residues, such as corn stover and wheat straw.
Corn silage prices would have to nosedive more than they have for him to stop utilizing a readily available alternative feedstuff that growers around him don’t want, he says.
“What’s nice is the residue (cost) is going to be a pretty constant figure,” says Allen, who buys bales of it at $65/ton from local farmers. “It’s nice to be able to use something that historically has only been useful plowing back into the ground.”
ADM spent years developing Second Crop for the exact reasons Allen cited – as an inexpensive corn silage replacement that still delivers a balanced nutritional profile, says John Klein, the company’s corn replacement feed product manager.
Treated feed can make up anywhere from 10% to 80% of a beef-cattle diet, he says. It has mostly been marketed toward feedlot operators and cow-calf producers, but current studies are looking at using it with dairy cows. Klein says he wouldn’t be afraid to feed it at a dairy (see “Corn Stover As Dairy Feed?”).
The process works by grinding residue in a tub grinder, adding water to bring the moisture level up to about 55-60%. Allen has had the most success grinding stover to a 2” particle length. It is then treated with lime slurry, which breaks down cellulose-lignin bonds and makes more carbohydrates available, he says.
The treated residue should then be packed and covered the same as corn silage.
“I think the piles get better the longer they sit,” Klein says. “It doesn’t ferment like silage because the pH is too high. It’s more of a curing.”
At Kabil, Allen lets treated residue sit a minimum of 30 days before feeding to give the treatment more time to work. He feeds his 12,000-head herd about 10,000 tons of treated residue a year.
Lime-treated material can be fed within five to seven days or stored and fed months later, says Klein. He has also seen growers feed piles after 16 months.
To replace as much as 80% of corn silage in a ration, treated residue must be fed with an energy and protein source, he cautions. ADM recommends distillers grains. Without a supplement, residue can only replace up to 20%, according to ADM.
The forage ration at Kabil consists largely of treated residue, with a bit of dry hay, earlage, distillers grains and vitamins.
Click here to see more...