Corn Bran Level in Finishing Diets and N Losses from Open-Dirt Pens

Three experiments were conducted with yearling steers to evaluate diet digestibility effects on N volatilization from open-dirt feedlot pens. Digestibility was decreased by increasing dietary corn bran. Corn bran was fed at 0%, 15%, or 30% of diet DM. Intakes increased linearly and ADG decreased linearly as bran inclusion increased. Manure N was increased linearly and N volatilization decreased from 74% to 54% during October to May as bran increased. No differences were observed for N balance from May to October. Decreasing diet digestibility had variable results on manure N and volatilization depending on time of year