07/30/08 Fuel for cows

Ethanol production uses a lot of corn but some comes back to be used as feed. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back right after this to talk about fuel for cattle. Distillers grains have been used for livestock feed for years, but usually in a dried form and in relatively small quantities, until the huge surge of ethanol production. While some of the distillers grains are still fed in dried form, a large amount is fed as wet distillers grains. Drying the by-product feed, of course, requires energy, so some plants like Pacific Ethanol in Boardman, Oregon sell their distillers grains wet and use about 30 percent less energy. I've not mentioned much about his livestock feed source since most of the ethanol production has been centered in the Midwest and transportation charges to our area make utilizing distillers grains cost prohibitive. According to Tim Raphael, director of government affairs and communication for Pacific Ethanol, the Boardman plant is destination-based, which means it is located close to cows and people, not to large corn supplies. With an ethanol plant here in the Pacific Northwest, wet distillers grains becomes a more viable feed option for certain classes of cattle. This is especially true with the higher feed costs cattle ranchers are faced with today. Feeding this by-product might cut feed costs or provide a needed supplement to feed along with lower quality forages. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Farmer-Stockman July 2008