Effects Of Feeding A Combination Of Modified Distillers Grains Plus Solubles and Wet Corn Gluten Feed to Adapt Cattle to Finishing Diets

Two 39-day metabolism trials were conducted using a combination of modified distillers grains and wet corn gluten feed (Synergy, ADM) to adapt beef cattle to finishing diets (SYNERGY). During adaptation, DMI expressed as % of BW tended to be greater for steers on traditional grain adaptation with forage (CON) compared to SYNERGY during the first period (steps 1), but was not different in subsequent adaptation diets (steps 2, 3, and 4). Average ruminal pH was lower for SYNERGY on steps 1 and 2 compared to CON in Experiment 1 with no difference observed in Experiment 2. No difference in ruminal pH was observedbetween treatments for steps 3 and 4. Both adaptation methods resulted in safe ruminal pH and H2S concentrations (\u3c36μmol/L gas). Significant difference was observed for DM digestibility (DMD) between treatments during step 1 with higher values for the SYNERGY treatment