Ethanol Blog

A recent webinar sponsored by Ethanol Producer Magazine gave participants information about corn oil extraction and the effects of low-oil dried distillers grains on animal nutrition, according to an article by Ethanol Producer (http://bit.ly/…).

Approximately 80% of ethanol plants are now extracting corn oil and there has been a 30% increase corn oil use by the biodiesel market. Ethanol plants gained additional revenue by removing oil and it has become an important co-product of ethanol production.

Dr. Harold Tilstra, from Purina Animal Nutrition LLC, educated participants on the effects of low-oil distillers grains on the four primary species fed distillers grains.

Since the corn oil in DDG tends to depress milk fat production with high inclusion rates, low-oil DDG has been well-accepted by the dairy industry. However, for beef cattle, the lower caloric content of low-oil DDG is a problem since the focus is on feeding cows as much as they can eat. Wet distillers grains with solubles have about 120% of the energy of corn, making low-oil distillers still an economical source of energy and protein.

Pigs are able to digest some of the energy out of the fiber in DDG, making up for some of the energy lost when oil is removed. Still, producers must make up for those lost calories. On the other hand, removing some of the oil helps combat DDG's tendency to soften pork belly fat.

Low-oil DDG is slightly less desirable for poultry, since removing oil results in less energy and a less-than-ideal amino acid balance.

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

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