Brayden Thompson, OSU Undergraduate Summer Research Intern
If you
are familiar with livestock feed ingredients, there is a good chance you have heard of a product called dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) or more commonly referred to as distillers grains. Distillers grains are a byproduct of ethanol production and are most commonly made from corn in the U.S. but can also come from wheat in other parts of the world. However, few may be aware of how DDGS is produced and how processing can impact its feeding quality. Ethanol plants producing DDGS is like going to a potluck dinner. You know there are going to be several variations of mac and cheese. While they are still all mac and cheese, they are not all going to taste the same and this is similar for the production of DDGS. When ethanol plants produce DDGS, they do not all follow the same production practices, since this product is not regulated. This results in a product that can be highly variable between ethanol plants and even within batches at the same ethanol plant. In this week’s post we are going to look at what goes into the production of DDGS as well as how to properly include this byproduct feed ingredient into your next small ruminant ration. Continue reading
making season ends and hay feeding season approaches, it is time to remind everyone that feeds hay how important getting a hay test completed is for deciding how to feed your livestock this winter. A hay test will cost you far less than the cost of a single round bale. The results you get back will give you the information you need to decide what type of feed and how much you will need to purchase to keep your animals productive until good pasture is available to graze again.
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law in January of 2011. FSMA attempts to shift the focus of food safety from reacting to foodborne outbreaks to preventing them from occurring. The law stipulates that complying facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food (hereafter referred to as feed) or feed ingredients for animals must implement Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls, or HARPC (FDA 2018a; Scheffler and Carr 2016). Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls have similarities to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) that are commonly used in foods for humans, such as meat, seafood, and juice, but may be unfamiliar to facilities producing feed for livestock. For more information on compliance requirements and the general structure of an animal food safety plan, consult EDIS document AN330, 
fall period for alfalfa has been said to start about six weeks before the first killing frost, which is roughly around the first week of September for most of the Midwest. This hard stop in harvest schedules is supposed to ensure plants store enough energy in their roots to survive the winter, but with improved alfalfa varieties, variable stand conditions, and warmer weather patterns, how critical can this period really be?
drought has dominated the agricultural news feed for several years. Extended dry weather can dramatically reduce hay yields, but wet weather or simply baling hay that is too high in moisture can destroy a hay crop.
early dry weather allowed most of us to get our first cutting hay in a timely manner, and now we are into second-cutting hay. This is the time of the year that I like to remind everyone that it is a great time to assess if you have enough hay for the winter, as well as to consider if there are other things that can be done to assure adequate feed for livestock this winter.
forages planted in late summer can be sources of highly digestible fiber in ruminant livestock rations. There are several excellent forage options that can be considered for no-till or conventional tillage plantings in the late summer or early fall planting window. These forages can be a planned component of the overall forage production plan. They can be utilized on land that would otherwise sit idle until next spring, such as following wheat or an early corn silage harvest.
Midwest has seen an increase in photovoltaic (PV) solar energy production over the past several years. Nowhere is this more evident than in Ohio. Traditional ground cover options for utility-scale solar projects includes stone, gravel, bare earth, and various types of turfgrass vegetation. However, as the buildout of utility-scale solar projects increases, many are exploring the feasibility of dual land-use strategies that incorporate agricultural and conservation practices with solar production. Popular examples include pairing solar production with specialty vegetable crop production, livestock grazing, and pollinator habitats. However, as the size of utility-scale projects in Ohio has evolved from 100- to 200-acre projects into projects that are 2,000 acres or more, widespread integration of these practices faces real, common challenges: