As a consultant in central Nebraska, one of the most common questions I receive is: “Have DDGS changed?” Of course, there is lots of antidotal evidence that ethanol plants are getting more efficient. Plants have improved utilizing all the starch from the corn and removing more of the corn oil. Let’s review the ethanol production...Read More

Often, we struggle to find forage in a drought. In Nebraska, the effects of the drought are prevalent. We have seen no April showers, instead wind and grass fires. These conditions are forecast to persist. So we are going to need to start making our forage plans early. Additionally, we will have to rely more...Read More

The ultimate question of why Ward Laboratories, INC. has a feed department: Why test feeds? Approximately 2 years ago, in 2020 I tried to answer this question in blog post: Value in feed testing: feed analysis pays off in profits. Here we are 2 years later with drought conditions persisting across western United States. These...Read More

There are 5 principles of soil health as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation District. Armor the Soil (keep crop residue on the soil to prevent errosion) Minimal Soil Disturbance (No-Till) Plant Diversity (Grow more than just row crops, consider cover crop mixes) Keep a continual live root in the soil (again cover crops) But...Read More

For many years I have seen producers bale their crop residue, specifically cornstalks and soybean stubble, after harvest. This practice has been driven somewhat by feedlot demand after the advent of distillers co-products from ethanol plants in the early 2000’s. Distillers co-products are high in protein and energy for livestock. Therefore,  there is a demand...Read More

The removal of corn oil from distillers co-products resulted from livestock industry feed back. Interference of fat with rumen metabolism required low inclusion rates in the beef diet. Full fat DDGS had a negative impact on milk quality in the dairy industry. Swine fed co-products with full oil content resulted in soft bacon. The ethanol...Read More

This year’s Swine Day at Kansas State University, like previous years, was a tidal wave of information.  So, here are some of the highlights I found to be most interesting.  Dr. Joel DeRouchey gave two interesting research summaries one on the effects of Bacillius probiotics fed to sows and the second on iron injection supplementation...Read More

With Halloween being over, you might start to wonder what happens to all the pumpkins left in the field that weren’t chosen to be carved into Jack o’ Lanterns or set out as a fall decoration. As it turns out pumpkins are great to supplement a livestock diet! They are also cost-effective as they become...Read More

I have received many phone calls asking about the optimal time to chop corn silage based on moisture.  Unfortunately, this late in the chopping season, most corn crops are too dry to meet the guideline of between 33-38% dry matter as covered at the Silage for Beef Cattle 2018 Conference.  A lot of the green...Read More

Every once in awhile I get asked if soybean plants or stubble should be tested for nitrates.  Soybeans are legumes like alfalfa, and like alfalfa, under stressed conditions can accumulate a toxic concentration of nitrates.  Soybeans are listed as nitrate accumulators by the Iowa Beef Canter.  Therefore, if you are having doubts, send a sample...Read More

The other day I received a phone call from a dairyman who said he was attempting to “Feed from the waste stream” and he sent in two samples.   The first sample was mixed juice pressings, which consisted of a random assortment of spinach, cucumbers, ginger, carrots, apples and more, and the second sample was citrus...Read More