Keys to Improve Digestibility of Corn Silage.

Keys to Improve Digestibility of Corn Silage. Why is breaking up the corn kernel so important to starch digestibility? Luiz Ferraretto, assistant professor of livestock nutrition at the University of Florida and speaker at the Silage for Beef 2018 Conference held in June in Nebraska, answered that question and offered additional advice to producers about how to improve the digestibility of their corn silage. The outside shell of a kernel that’s protecting everything inside is called the pericarp, and it's very hard. “If you throw an intact kernel into the rumen of a dairy or beef cow, it's not going to be digested because the pericarp inhibits digestion,” said Ferraretto. “The first thing you need to do is to eliminate the protection, and the way to do that is by breaking more kernels.”

DDGS AND POULTRY FEED.

Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS) is the result of extracting ethanol from grains through dry milling.The corn kernel, which is a source of food for humans and animals, its also a source of ethanol, a fuel source. Dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) offer nutrients and energy, DDGS can be sourced from corn, rice, wheat, sorghum and are highly useful for livestock and poultry. Ethanol producers only use the carbohydrate fraction of the corn kernel. The protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins are returned to the animal food system in the form of distillers’ grains which are fed to beef cows and swine.This results in millions of tons of high protein animal feed and although 40% of the crop is often cited as the amount of corn used for making ethanol . DDGS derived from corn is an excellent feed ingredient for use in layer, broiler, duck and turkey diets and contains approximately 85% of the energy value in corn, has moderate levels of protein and essential amino acids, and is high in available phosphorus. DDGS from corn in the ethanol industry are considered to be waste,(distillers) but can still have a use as a feed ingredient. It is a very cheap source of crude protein, crude fibre, available phosphorous, unsaturated fatty acids and essential amino acids. This is an effective alternative to soya and corn in the poultry diet with the added benefit that it reduces feed costs by replacing soya in the diet as the price of soya is very high . The inclusion of DDGS in poultry diet has many advantages; birds fed with DDGS have a better feed intake, feed conversion ratio, body weight gain. The DDGS inclusion improves meat and egg quality by enriching it with omega-3 fatty acids (Linoleic acid) which is good for heart patients. There is improved phosphorous availability and therefore there is less phosphorous excretion.This prevents environmental pollution due to high phosphorous bio availability and less exogenous phosphorous is supplemented and this reduces the feed cost.

DDGS and enzymes make a good mix in broiler diets.

Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS) is the result of extracting ethanol from grains through dry milling. The average level of protein contained in the DDGS is 26% (as fed). The level of total Lysine is higher than in corns with low digestibility (60-70%). In the case of sulphur amino acids, the digestibility is a little bit higher (70-75%). If we take a finisher standard diet for broilers (28-42 days for birds) based on corn and soy with a 15% inclusion of DDGS as an example, the level of protein in the diet is nearly 20%, with digestible lysine that represents 5% of the total and moderated levels of sulphur amino acids and threonine digestible (12% and 13% respectively). The content of unsaturated fat is high (5-10%). The hydrolysis process and the drying to which the product is submitted increases the concentration of free fatty acids. Between different authors, the ME can vary between 2,600 and 2,950 Kcal, depending fundamentally on the composition, processes and digestibility coefficients from different fractions. The content of total phosphorus is high, with high availability, resulting in 0.45-0.55% of avail-able phosphorus. They can also contain high levels of xanthophyll, which can improve pigmentation; up to 35 mg/kg were found in DDGS. The levels of crude fibre obtained analytically are in excess of 10%. Almost all the starch has been converted to ethanol, so that a big concentration of non-starch polysaccharides and especially cell-wall components exists. This is why the use of exogenous enzymes is presented as an alternative; to increase the efficient use of nutrients in diets formulated with DDGS. DDGS can be a good alternative ingredient in diets for broilers. Its use in combination with a multi-enzymatic complex, combined with an extra dose of phytase, can help to achieve optimal performance. A few trials, conducted in Argentina, are described here; In the first assay, 640 male broilers were distributed between 32 floor pens according to a randomised, complete block design. With 20 birds per pen, it consisted of four treatments with diets containing 15% of DDGS: A-diet with a normal energy level; B-diet with a low level of energy (-150Kcal) and a 50g dose of multi-enzymatic complex (xylanase, amylase and protease); C-diet with a low level of energy (-150Kcal) and a 100g dose of multi-enzymatic complex (xylanase, amylase and protease); D-diet with a normal energy level and 100g dose of a bacterial phytase (dose equal to 1,000 FTU). The feeding plan consisted of a pre-starter for up to 10 days, a starter from 11 to 21 days, and a finisher up to 42 days. Although statistical differences were not found with the statistical methods used, numerically speaking, the diets formulated with DDGS with a low level of energy and the addition of multi-enzymatic complex resulted in higher body weight (Table 1) and less feed conversion than DDGS diets with normal levels of energy without the addition of enzymes. The DDGS used contained 10% crude fibre. The addition of multi-enzymatic complex increased the digestibility of diets with a greater fibre content. The addition of 1,000 FTU of phytase (750 FTU formulated and 250 FT on top) to DDGS diets with normal levels of energy resulted in better weight and less feed conversion than the rest of the treatments. The addition of an extra dose of phytase would allow benefits to be gained from other nutrients, not only phosphorus. read more about research ;http://www.allaboutfeed.net/Nutrition/Raw-Materials/2015/12/DDGS-and-enzymes-make-a-good-mix-in-broiler-diets-2721468W/

MYCOTOXINS AND HORSE FEED.

Mycotoxins in horse cause health issues,and as such feed must be thoroughly checked to prevent diseases. http://www.thehorse.com/articles/36231/life-threatening-fumonisins-in-horses?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=nutrition&utm_campaign=08-10-2015