Ethanol Blog

Even though Mexico is the third largest buyer of U.S. dried distillers grains with solubles, potential remains for growth with Southern Mexico's livestock sector, according to an article on the U.S. Grains Council's website (http://bit.ly/…).

The council completed an assessment of the region's potential for DDGS use for livestock and found that the potential exists to more than double the 1.3 million metric tons of DDGS Mexico imported for livestock.

Since most livestock production in southern Mexico is by small-scale producers, USGC believes the market can be increased by providing education to cattle producers in the area.

As part of that effort, USGC conducted a feeding trial in which grazing cattle were fed feed concentrate comprised of 80% DDGS each day. The trial showed that cattle consuming the DDGS supplement grew twice as fast as those who didn't, proving the benefit of purchasing the feed concentrate.

One local cattleman was so impressed with the results, he convinced a consortium of cattle farmers to commit to further trials with 30,000-plus head of cattle. The council's office in Mexico will work closely with the consortium and will disseminate results of the trials in the region.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com.

(CZ)

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