US farmers feed more ethanol by products

The survey included 9,000 Midwestern farmers and found
that in 2006 ethanol by products were fed to livestock at 38% of dairy
operations, 36% of cattle-on-feed operations, 13% of beef cattle operations, and
12% of pig operations.

Value of DDGS
“These numbers are not
really surprising. A lot of distiller dried grains (DDGS) are being produced,
and they have excellent feed value. It is still good to see the facts back up
corn growers’ assertion that we can and will meet the needs of the livestock
industry even with the rapid expansion of ethanol production,” said Wendell
Shauman, Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB) chairman of Kirkwood.

More research
“The ICMB remains very aware how
important the pig industry is to Illinois; so we are committed to advancing
aggressive research and education programs to make DDGS as functional and
valuable to the pork industry as it currently is to beef and dairy sectors of
our industry,” Shauman said.

The survey also showed that corn gluten
feed was used by 46% of beef cow operations and 38% of cattle on feed
operations. Most purchased from feed companies or coops, but many cattle-on-feed
operations bought directly from ethanol and other processing plants.

Related folder:
Dossier AllAbout Bio Energy

Related
websites:
National Agricultural
Statistics Service
Illinois Corn Marketing Board

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