Cows eating syrup from ethanol plant

[jhm47]

A couple of my cows eating syrup from the ethanol plant. Excellent feed, high in protein and energy. Cow # 82 had twins again this year. She has had 5 sets of twins in 9 calvings.

These cows have had calves.

These are some bred cows that will be calving later.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

They sure look like they like the syrup!

Nice looking cows! #82 has that sweet gentle look about her. I hope she gives you many heifer calves to continue such a gentle line.

 

[wynedot55]

yes they look like they are enjoying the syrup.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Gee, I'll bet its like liquid candy to them!

How much do you feed them per day or week?

 

[Nifty]

And how's the price compared to other feed with similar nutrients?

 

[jhm47]

It costs me $10 / ton, FOB. I have to supply my own tanks, and go and get it, so I suppose the real cost is around $20/ton.

The last analysis that I got was:

Dry matter, 29%
Crude protein, 22.1%
Fat, 14%

It's very high in phosphorous and sulfur. You need to feed a mineral that is high in calcium, and you have to be careful not to overfeed sulfur, otherwise, it's a great supplement. It is difficult to handle (thick, like ketchup), and it wears out pumps quickly. It also will freeze in very cold weather, and has a limited shelf life of around a month or so. I have fed it for nearly 7 years, and have had great results.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

That's a pretty good analysis and still cheap. Soybean meal runs $319/ton.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

How much do you feed them? I've heard about cattle being fed bakery leftovers and they have almost the same quality nutrition as the stuff your feeding them. Though that bakery stuff is so rich the cows only get it like 2 or 3 times a week.

 

[Thewife]

We fed the bakery left overs one winter, we fed it daily.
I'm not sure of the numbers, but it was cheap.
It was a pain to open all packaging and feed it, but the cows did real good on it!
Every now and then we would get a cow that would skip a feeding! I'm thinking tummy ache? They would lay there, chewing their cud, watching the others eat, but be back to eating it by the next feeding.

 

[laughingllama75]

I had a friend (well, have a friend) that HAD a brown swiss cow. they fed her bakery leftovers all the time, for about 6 months. one day, she went down, and got bloat. the vet could not help her. Said it was from the yeast in the blueberry cake or some such thing they fed her. poor girl.....death by desserts.