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Superintendent
David Davis
21262 Genoa Road
Linneus, MO 64653
Phone: 660 895-5121
FAX: 660 895=5122
Email: DavisDK@missouri.edu

Forage Systems Update
Vol 15, No. 3

Seventy -three (73) spring born open heifers were randomly divided into three treatments by age and weight. These heifers were born and raised at the MU Forage System Research Center (FSRC). Each of the three treatment groups were then split into 2 replications. The treatments used were:

• Treatment #1: Heifers fed hay and 5 lbs of soy hulls.
• Treatment #2: Heifers fed hay and 5 lbs of soy hulls with the addition of 2 pounds of CDS per day added to grain ration.
• Treatment #3: Heifers fed hay and 5 lbs of soy hulls with the addition of free choice CDS in a wheel type lick tank per day

Heifers were weighed onto the project on December 2, 2005. Body weights were taken every 28 days. Final weights, pelvic measurements, reproductive tract scores and frame scores were taken on March 15, 2006. At this point, 50 heifers were selected to be bred as replacement females for the spring calving herd at FSRC and were sorted; the 23 culled heifers were sold. The 50 replacement heifers were synchronized using a 14 day CIDR protocol and were time bred by artificial insemination to Cherokee Canyon, a Red Angus bull. No clean up bull was used.

The objectives of this project were:

1. To compare animal performance on diets either with or without condensed distiller's soluble (CDS) during the winter feeding period.
2. To compare the economics of including CDS in a winter feeding program.
3. To monitor CDS consumption during the winter feeding period.

A few observations on the heifers and using CDS include:

• The heifers on the lick tank carried visibly more flesh at the end of the feeding period than did the other 2 treatments.
• Consumption of CDS for the heifers on the lick tank was 14.8 pounds per day during the first 30 days. It appeared that there was a lot of social activity around the lick tanks. To try to offset this, 3 of the 4 lick wheels in each of the tanks was removed and CDS consumption dropped to around 10.5 pounds per day.
• There were only 4 days during the winter feeding period when the wheels in the lick tanks froze.
• The CDS was stored in poly or fiberglass tanks and never froze in the storage tanks.
• The product comes out of the storage tanks at the ethanol plant at close to 200 degrees. We had no problem hauling or storing it in poly tanks.
• From our observations the storage life of CDS seems to be two to three weeks in the winter months and one to two weeks during the summer. The warmer the weather the quicker the solid portion of the product settles out from the liquid portion and mold growth started.
• To make CDS a viable feed supplement, enough on-farm storage must be available to accommodate receiving a large quantity at one time to reduce freight costs. The amount received at one time must be a quantity that can be used up within the above mentioned shelf life or storage times. In some areas two or more producers have gone together to purchase full or half semi loads of CDS at one time in order to reduce delivery costs while at the same time feeding the product before it goes out of condition.

TABLE 1: Heifer Performance and Breeding Data