Effects of Feeding Isolated Nutrient Components in MDGS on Growing Cattle Performance

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of individual nutrient components in distillers grains on performance of growing calves. A 40% corn control treatment was included for direct comparison to a diet containing 40% modified distillers grains. Four additional treatments were formulated to isolate the contribution of solubles, protein, fiber, and a combination of fiber and solubles on cattle performance. Average daily gains and ending BW were greater, while F:G lower for cattle fed 40% modified distillers grains compared to the corn control. We were able to determine that protein, when overfed, contributes to the higher energy value of distillers relative to corn in growing diets