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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1993-03-17, Page 33Farm 93 FIRST RATE CORN HYBRIDS FROM FIRST LINE SEEDS NEW RELEASE LINE UP G 4024 - 2550 CHU G 4030 - 2575 CHU G 4043 - 2600 CHU G 4034 - 2600 CHU G 4120 - 2725 CHU SILAGE CORN 2750 - 2900 CHU BUY ONE — GET ONE FREE FUNK'S I — 411 HYBRID__ REMEMBER TO ORDER HISTICK INOCULANT FOR HIYIELD SOYBEANS! YOUR ORDER PLUS PAYMENT BEFORE MARCH 31/93 4% DISCOUNT Available at: JOHN KING R.R. #4, Wingham 357-2645 TIME FOR TREES Your tree & shrub Windbreak Headquarters * QUALITY Heavy rooted bareroot deciduous and evergreen trees * SELECTION A large selection of species, sizes and prices * AVAILABILITY Give us a call for a quote on your large quantity requirements. EVERGREEN TRANSPLANTS DECIDUOUS TREES Norway Spruce 30"-36" $4.95 Norway Maple 6' - $15.00 White Spruce 24"-30" $3.90 Harlequin Maple 6' - 7' $23.00 Blue Spruce 18"-24" $5.50 Crimson King Maple 6' $21.00 White Cedar 30"-36" $6.00 Sugar Maple 5' $14.00 Scotch Pine 24"-30" $3.25 Patmore Ash 6' - 7' $19.00 Austrian Pine 18"-24" $4.25 Honey Locust 6' - 7' $21.00 Fraser Fir 12"-20" $3.00 Red Oak 5' $13.00 "CALL TODAY FOR OUR PRICE LIST" MAITLAND MANOR NURSERY Don Henry R.R. #1 Bluevale on Hwy. #86 519-335-3240 nagretiammtirmentlettetneinimmente -hi I I it 1 it' i FT -I FARMING '93, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1993. A13. Away in the manger Spreading out feed in the manger is a daily chore for Bruce Schmidt of RR 3, Blyth even though on this day, his actions seemed to pique the interest of his daughter Heather, one of his Jersey cows and the family farm dog. Mr. Schmidt feeds his cattle corn distillers in this manger which he spreads around with a fork before dumping silage and haylage on top of it. The by-product has made a dramatic increase in his herd's production levels. Corn distillers boost herd's milk production By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot Feeding by-products are to dairy cows as milk is to humans—an incredible source of energy and nutrients. Just ask Bruce and Grace Schmidt of RR 3, Blyth whose 32- head milking Jersey herd average has made dramatic gains since he started feeding his dairy cows corn distillers two years ago. His breed class average (BCA), which once remained steady at 160, is now over 200. The latest Dairy Herd Improvement report revealed his current BCA is 227 223 230 with his heifers at 240 232 243. Mr. Schmidt remembers his for- mer frustration with his herd's pro- duction. "We were culling heavily and still our BCA was stuck at 160," he says. "I wasn't satisfied and started taking a look at how things were done south of the border." He was surprised to learn dairy farmers in New York State were feeding their cattle corn distillers shipped from Barrie, Ontario. "I thought if they were getting a bargain, it must be a bargain for us as well," he says. He started feeding the protein- rich by-product and discovered the cows loved it, digging into the feed bunk to get at it. Even better, his cows started pro- ducing more milk. Now, his heifers are producing 5982 litres, almost twice as much milk as the provin- cial average of 3505. What really impresses Mr. Schmidt is the increase in his milk value per lactation. This figure, which is calculated on the DHI reports, is $4,538—way above the provincial Jersey average of $2,645. Though his feed costs per cow have remained relatively con- stant, the cost per litre of milk has been reduced significantly with the increase in production. As far as by-products go, corn distillers is relatively inexpensive, selling for $48 per tonne. Watching his feed costs decrease and his production figures increase has led Mr. Schmidt to want to learn more about by-product feed- ing and nutrition. After careful research, he soon discovered corn- distillers were providing a missing ingredient from his former ration— slow release carbohydrates and by- pass protein. "This protein allows the cows to make good use of their entire diges- tive system," he explains. "The old ration did a good job of feeding the rumen but once feed by-passed the rumen, it wasn't digested much more." With the by-pass protein, his cat- tle have more time to digest the feed and as a result, get more out of it. There is a side-effect to feeding corn distillers, discovered Mr. Schmidt. He says the by-product is high in phosphorous which disrupts the bovine's phosphorous-calcium ratio. Dairy cattle need a ratio of two parts calcium to one part phos phorous but the by-product alters the ratio to 1-1. This ratio imbalance had led to an increase of milk fever in his Jer- sey herd, a disorder this breed of cattle is already susceptible too. Once Mr. Schmidt realized this, he supplemented the herd's diet with calcium and the problem has decreased, he says. The other negative aspect of feeding corn distillers is the work involved. The by-product, which is wet, smelly and heavy, is not pleas- ant to work with. Continued on page A14 Corn distillers by-product of ethanol Corn distillers, the increasingly popular protein supplement to dairy rations, is actually a by-product of ethanol fuel production. Commercial Alcohols Inc. of the Bruce Energy Centre, near the Bruce Nuclear Power Development Plant, is a producer of ethanol fuels and corn distillers. The process begins with corn at under 15.5 per cent moisture. It's milled and mixed with water, yeast and enzymes before being cooked in large cookers for six hours. Then, the mixture is cooled and put into fermenting tanks where it transforms into alcohol within 40 hours. Finally, the mixture is distilled numerous times before being separated into alcohol and mash. This mash, which is actually a waste product, is dried and concentrated to become corn distillers. The high protein and fat levels in the corn distillers make it particulary valuable for dairy cattle, Gary McInerney, an animal nutritionist, who is vice-president of Commercial Alcohols, told The Rural Voice last year. However, only four or five per cent of Ontario farmers are using the product, he says. Most of the grain is trucked to dairy farms in Michigan and New York. He believes this may be due in part to the fact that the shelf-life of wet distillers is 10 days and not many Ontario dairy producers are large enough to feed a load (15-32 tonnes) before it spoils.