Feeding Bioenergy Coproducts to Swine: Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS)

Iowa is a leader in both corn production and the milling of corn into ethanol. As of April 2007, Iowa had 23 corn ethanol plants and 20 more plants under construction and planning stages. In 2006, approximately 650 bushels of Iowa corn was milled by corn ethanol plants. The primary coproduct of dry-milling ethanol plants is distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). In Iowa, the primary grain used is corn that is fermented and alcohol is collected by distillation. Through the fermentation process, much of the starch in corn is removed and the remaining corn nutrients are concentrated in the coproduct. The remaining coproduct is DDGS, which is an excellent feed for many species including swine