by Dr. James I. Sprague, nutritionist

Drought stress or excess rain during harvest
Light test weight wheat is often caused by drought during the growing season, or rains at harvest time that shrinks the wheat seeds. In central Kansas in 2004, rains have caused the test weight to drop to 54 to 55 pounds per bushel of late cut wheat. The problem with feeding wheat grain is getting good utilization of small seeds. This is particularly true for light test weight wheat. (Normal wheat of 59 to 62 test weight will also contain some small seeds of wheat.)
Processing is important
It doesn’t seem to make a difference if the processing is dry rolled or steam flaked, if the wheat is not adequately processed, small undigested seeds will be in the manure.
Purchase at a discount to corn
Even though light test weight wheat will have higher protein content than corn, I believe it should be purchased at a discount to corn, because of the difficulty processing it. Wheat should have a similar energy value to corn, but over the years our clients have found when feeding wheat they have not achieved the expected performance compared to their standard corn ration. This will be particularly true with light test weight wheat. However, if the wheat was processed properly, performance was acceptable.
Our recommendation has been to pay no more than corn price or less on a hundred weight price (not a bushel price). Wheat has a protein credit compared to corn which will be a benefit for some rations, particularly growing programs.
Corn processing is different than wheat processing
Compared to corn, it takes a finer corrugated roller for dry rolling wheat. For example, when corn is dry processed the roll corrugations may be four to six corrugations per inch. This will not work at all for wheat which needs eight or more corrugations per inch, in my opinion. Anthony Cortese, a cattle feeder in Pueblo, Colorado, uses 10 to 12 corrugations per inch to process wheat. (Corn processed at four corrugations per inch is fed in very low roughage rations to achieve high feed intake and daily gains.)
Suggestions for dry rolling wheat
Our clients have used eight to 12 corrugations per inch roller mills for wheat, barley and milo. We believe the more corrugations, the better, to get the small seeds. They also use roller mills with differential drives to get a shearing action on the grain, which cracks most of the small wheat berries. Mills with differential drives also help feed the grain through the mills, according to Cortese. One of the important points is the use of sharp rolls to get a cutting and shearing action with less flour.
A double stack roller mill would be ideal for processing for light weight wheat as well as any small grain.
Bloat prevention with Rumensin
Even though the use of the feed additive Rumensin has prevented much of the bloat in feedlot cattle, grain-type bloat can still be a problem for feedlot cattle, particularly when wheat or barley is fed. Check with your nutritionist for their suggested Rumensin feeding level. We have at times used the maximum level to help get control.
Limit alfalfa for bloat control
In addition to Rumensin for bloat control, another idea is to limit alfalfa hay and substitute non-legume roughage such as corn, wheat, or sorghum silage for part or all of the roughage. In several cases (before Rumensin became available) we were able to nearly eliminate bloat when feeding as much as 50 percent steamed rolled wheat by using corn silage as the roughage rather than alfalfa hay. Another advantage of using corn or sorghum silage is it provides moisture and a succulent feed to help control the flour and fine grain particles. A little extra roughage from corn or sorghum silage will assist in rumination, resulting in bloat control and utilization of the grain.
Use in grow rations
One of the uses of light test weight wheat is for grain in growing ration. The high protein credit helps considerably in these rations, particularly if corn or sorghum silage is the base roughage. The extra roughage, which causes rumination, will help in the digestion and utilization of small seeds from light test weight wheat. ©
Comments or questions on this or any article by Dr. Sprague can be directed to him at 625 Grandview, Newton, Kansas, 67114 or b calling him at 316-283-8692.