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Purchasing Blended Ingredients Comments by James I. Sprague, Nutritionist Blended products offer interesting options Blended ingredients are offered to feedlots as a substitute for grains, protein sources, and roughages. Some products are a mixture of grain substitutes and roughage sources. The best example of this is what is commonly called "wheat mids." This is really the millstream from the flour milling industry and is a mixture of wheat bran and wheat middlings. Our experience tells us this is a valuable feed if the price is right. However some loads have more bran than other loads. If the "wheat mids" are pelleted, Bentonite or calcium may be added to help make a hard pellet. These non-nutrient ingredients detract from the nutritional value. There is a trade off between the value of a pellet for material handling reasons and the dilution by a non-nutritive binding material. Why are blended products available? There are several reasons for making a combination of ingredients. Some products do not handle as bulk meals, so pelleting the ingredient or a combination of ingredients is one of the solutions. But material handling is only one of the reasons. Some products will not make good pellets with the addition of another ingredient to facilitate the binding of the product so that the pellet will not disintegrate by further handling. An example is brewer-dried grains. The pelleting of the product produces a crumbly pellet. Adding grain or cottonseed meal to the mixture improves the pellet quality. In the case of a liquid blend, one ingredient may enhance the value of the mixture. A good example is corn steep added to a molasses mix. The corn steep will add considerable protein and phosphorus to the mix. Also in the case of a heavy molasses, the addition of corn steep or some other more dilute liquid product will allow the product to pump easier. In some cases the blend will add chlorides that help the product handle better in cold weather. Cane molasses and "wood" molasses are some times blended in a 70-30 ratio to make a successful ration-dressing agent. Blended liquid products with some fat content are also available. "Mix-30" product is a liquid blend of three ingredients with the addition of a by-product of the vegetable fat industry. Agridyne of Springfield Illinois manufacturers the product in large volume. We have found it to be excellent for grow rations and as a dressing/conditioning agent for dry rations. It is also used free choice for pasture cattle and starting cattle. It supplies energy from fat, and protein and minerals from other offal products of the corn milling and fermentation industries. Another molasses/fat blend is a product using raw soap as the fat source mixed with cane molasses. We have also found this to be an excellent dressing agent for dry rations. A small amount of NPN is sometimes added to this product. Being a fair, but tough buyer The evaluation of blended products is a challenge to the manager of feedyards and by their nutritionists. Reputable suppliers of these products will make these ingredients valuable as a grain and roughage substitute. A feed tag will be of only limited use. The actual percent of each ingredient in a blend is necessary to properly evaluate the product. For example, there is a blend marketed at Malt Sprout Pellets by the Garvey Processing Company. These comments are not intended as an endorsement of the product, but to explain the process of evaluation They indicate an energy value of 0.43 Neg., a protein of 18 percent, crude fiber of 17 percent and phosphorus of 0.45 percent on a dry basis. This blend appears to be a valuable addition to a finishing or growing ration if priced competitive to other feed ingredients. It possibly could be fed free choice as a starting ration. It turns out that the product being offered is a palatable superior product. But there is always a question and caution with a blend; is the next load as good as the last load? A suggestion for evaluating products Here is a suggestion for the feedlot managers, buyers and their feed advisors. First of all, a reputable supplier with a good record of service is important. Use the feed tag only as a guide. Then ask for the approximate mixture of the blend from the supplier. Test the feed with the "proximate analysis method" and compare the fiber, fat, ash, and protein from the analysis and do the simple calculation of the estimated energy and digestibility. Your best help can come from your nutritionist to help evaluate the information High fiber is not always a roughage Some pelleted, blended products are re-ground before the pelleting process in order to make a firmer pellet. This action changes the nature of the fiber fractions. The coarse and rough fiber in a high concentrate ration is needed to stimulate the rumen action. However, in the case of grow rations the fiber may be still digestible even if finely processed. Mixtures of high protein ingredients Some ingredients such as sunflower meal (with the hulls) and hydrolyzed feather meal are not very palatable when fed as the sole protein supplement in a mixed ration. We have found that a mixture of 10 to 15 percent sunflower meal or hydrolyzed feather meal added to cottonseed meal and soybean meal would make a hard pellet which will handle in bulk. The mixture improves the palatability and the handling properties. Commercial Supplements Most consulting nutritionists require the amount of each ingredient in a supplement to be specified. The feedyard and the nutritionist must approve changes in the mixture. Even so, a reputable supplier of blended supplements and products is essential. Dr. James I. Sprague is a consulting feedyard nutritionist. Questions or comments concerning this article may be addressed to 625 Grandview, Newton, KS 67114 or (316) 283-8692. |
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