Dr. Paul Luimes, College Professor, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus Dr. Paul Luimes will review the lamb nutrition projects that have been completed at the Ridgetown Campus over the past few years. Projects include feeding corn silage to lambs, feeding dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) to lambs and the latest project, which is to determine whether pelleting is cost effective for lamb production.

1. Nutrition Research at Ridgetown
Paul H. Luimes, Ph.D.

2. 2010-2011

3. Can corn silage be profitable?
Component
Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM basis)
0% CS
25% CS
50% CS
Corn silage
0.0% ( 0.0%)
44.8% (25.0%)
71.0% (50.0%)
Corn grain
30.4% (30.0%)
15.4% (20.6%)
6.7% ( 11.3%)
Mixed grain
50.2% (50.0%)
25.4% (34.4%)
11.0% ( 18.8%)
Protein supplement A*
19.4% (20.0%)
7.2% (10.0%)
0.0% ( 0.0%)
Protein supplement B*
0.0% ( 0.0%)
7.2% (10.0%)
11.4% (20.0%)
Total
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
Cost/tonne
$311.81
$219.61
$165.72
Protein supplements supplied by Floradale Feed Mill
Supplement A – “off the shelf” product (34.25% CP, 61.72% TDN)
Supplement B – “custom made” product (41.1% CP, 65.30% TDN)

4. Feeding

5. Average lamb weight (lbs).
105
Lamb Weight, lbs
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Week
0% CS
25% CS
50% CS
7
8
9
10

6. Performance from 70 to 105 lbs
Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM basis)
0% CS
25% CS
50% CS
average daily gain
lb/d
0.71a
0.67a
0.46b
feed intake (dry matter)
lb/d
3.11a
2.99a
2.54b
feed intake (as fed)
lb/d
3.48a
4.55b
4.88c
days to market1
d
49.3
52.2
76.1
4.43a
4.54a
6.08b
$0.703a
$0.689a
$0.878b
feed (dry matter) to gain
feed cost/lb gain2
a,bNumbers
$/lb
across rows with a different superscript are different (p < 0.10).
calculated based on other values presented in table
2Feed cost was calculated based on corn silage costing $65/tonne, corn grain costing $260/tonne, mixed grain
costing $255/tonne and the protein supplement costing on average $595/tonne
1Values

7. Ration Analysis (on DM basis)
Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM basis)
0% CS
25% CS
50% CS
Crude protein (CP)
16.4%
16.4%
16.4%
Total digestible nutrients (TDN)
79.0%
77.1%
75.2%

8. Additional notes
• 4 lambs on the 50% CS treatment died
▫ 1 rectal prolapse
▫ 3 listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes)
• Management will require more attention with
corn silage
▫ Harvesting
▫ Storage
▫ Bunk

9. So would I feed corn silage to
lambs?
• Maybe…if…
▫ Around 25% inclusion
 A bit more if I wanted to slow lambs down for a
market (like a late Easter)
▫ I had they system already in place to do so
 If I was already feeding it to my ewes
 Not worth decreasing automation over
▫ I’d keep some beef cattle around for “clean up”
 Keep fresher feed in lamb/ewe bunks
 At least get some return for “wasted” feed

10. So would I feed corn silage to
lambs?
• Say I brought in
Percentage Corn Silage in Ration (DM
basis)
▫ 70 lb lambs
▫ on February 1, 2011
• And raised them
▫ on the 3 diets
▫ to 105 lbs
• As long as death loss is
kept under control!
0% CS
25% CS
50% CS
End date
Mar. 22
Mar. 25
Apr. 18
Total feed
cost
$24.61
$24.12
$30.73
-
-$0.49
$6.13
$234.71
$245.04
Diff
Lamb value
on end date*
Diff
$234.71
-
-
$10.33
*calculated from OSMA market reports

11. 2012

12. DDGS
First of all…what is corn?
•
•
•
•
•
Starch
Oil
Protein
NDF
Minerals
72.6%
4.3%
9.8%
9.0%
1.6%
Encyclopedia Britannica

13. Corn
Ground
Cooked
Digested
(“Liquifaction”)
Basic Process
Distillers’
Grains
Centrifugation
Fermentation
Distillation
CO2
Ethanol
DDGS
Wet Condensed
Solubles

14. Corn
Ground
Cooked
Digested
(“Liquifaction”)
Modified Process
Distillers’
Grains
Centrifugation
Fermentation
Distillation
CO2
Ethanol
De-oiled
DDGS
Wet Condensed
Solubles
Corn
Oil
De-oiled WCS

15. How much DDGS can we feed profitably?
Commodity
$/tonne
0% DDGS
15% DDGS
30% DDGS
Corn
$300
25.5%
25.5%
25.5%
Mixed grain1
$314
42.5%
42.5%
42.5%
Soybean meal
$450
16.7%
8.3%
0.0%
Oat hulls
$240
13.3%
6.7%
0.0%
DDGS
$235
0.0%
15.0%
30.0%
Premix2
$1,100
2.0%
2.0%
2.0%
Total
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
Cost/tonne
$339.01
$320.62
$302.44
Mixed grain is barley and oats at 50%:50% mix
2 Premix supplied by KenPal Farm Products Inc.
1

16. Average lamb weights, lb
120
115
110
105
Weight, lbs
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Week
0% DDGS
15% DDGS
30% DDGS
8
9
10

17. Performance from 70 to 110 lbs
Percentage DDGS in Ration
0% DDGS
15% DDGS
30% DDGS
Average daily gain
lb/d
0.78
0.80
0.71
Feed intake
lb/d
3.60a
3.54a
3.13b
Days to market1
d
51.3
50.0
56.3
4.79
4.56
4.62
$0.769a
$0.693b
$0.664b
Feed to gain
Feed cost/lb gain2
a,bNumbers
$/lb
across rows with a different superscript are different (p < 0.10).
1Values calculated based on other values presented in table
2Feed cost was calculated based on feed costing from previous slide

18. Ration Analysis
Percentage DDGS in Ration
0% DDGS
15% DDGS
30% DDGS
Dry Matter
88.9%
88.8%
89.5%
Crude Protein
18.8%
16.1%
15.6%
Total Digestible Nutrients
85.9%
84.4%
86.8%
Acid Detergent Fibre
11.0%
12.6%
9.9%
Neutral Detergent Fibre
20.1%
23.9%
23.9%
Calcium
1.00%
0.90%
0.82%
Phosphorus
0.46%
0.45%
0.44%
There is a fair amount of error associated with these numbers.

19. At the start…

20. At market…

21. At market…

22. Challenges
• No death losses
• Typical illnesses
▫ Some pink-eye
▫ Some coughing

23. Bunk Management
• Feed was offered as textured feed
▫ Lambs consumed corn, barley and oats first
▫ Consumed ground feed (soybean
meal/DDGS/premix) later
▫ Sorting of soybean meal was not as noticeable as
sorting of DDGS
• Most of the time the refusals were almost
exclusively ground feed
▫ Targeted around 5-10% refusals
▫ Actual was around 12.5%

24. Sorting
At feeding
Approx. 8 hrs after feeding

25. Some thoughts on refusals*…
0% DDGS
15% DDGS
30% DDGS
Feed offered, lbs/d
4.13
4.13
3.65
Feed refused, lbs/d
0.53
0.58
0.52
Feed intake, lbs/d
3.60
3.55
3.13
Average daily gain, lbs/d
0.78
0.80
0.71
Estimated sorting
None
Some
Considerable
CP offered, %1
17.0
17.0
17.0
CP refused, %2
17.0
22.0
27.0
CP offered, lbs/d
0.702
0.702
0.621
CP refused, lbs/d
0.090
0.128
0.140
CP intake, lbs/d
0.612
0.575
0.480
1Calculated
2Assuming
estimated sorting
*On a per lamb basis

26. So would I feed DDGS?
• Absolutely
▫ If I could do “tight” bunk management
 I’d feed at least 30%
▫ If I was feeding ad lib (like hog feeders)
 I might drop it a bit to 15%
 Or pellet it
• At $4.20 savings per lamb (70-110 lbs), not feeding
DDGS is a missed opportunity
• Since lambs are refusing expensive protein, could we
improve gains or make it cheaper by pelleting?

27. 2013

28. To “requirements”
0% DDGS
High CP
0% DDGS
30% DDGS
not
pelleted
pelleted
not
pelleted
pelleted
not
pelleted
pelleted
Corn
32.2%
22.2%
25.5%
15.5%
25.5%
15.5%
Barley
28.0%
28.0%
21.35%
21.35%
21.35%
21.35%
Oats
28.0%
28.0%
21.35
21.35
21.35%
21.35%
Wheat
Soybean
meal
10.0%
3.0%
3.0%
10.0%
10.0%
10.0%
10.0%
DDGS
30.0%
30.0%
Wheat
shorts
7.0%
7.0%
20.0
20.0
Premix
1.0%
1.0%
1.0%
1.0%
1.0%
1.0%
Limestone
0.8%
0.8%
0.8%
0.8%
0.8%
0.8%
Total
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
$/tonne
$373.00
$383.00
$386.50
$396.50
$378.00
$388.00
Premixes, feeds and pelleting supplied by B-W Feed and Seed, New Hamburg, ON

29. The treatments
• Form
▫ Pellet vs. Non-Pellet
• Content
▫ Low CP (SBM)
▫ High CP (SBM)
▫ High CP (DDGS)

30. Performance
Form
Non-Pellet
Content
Pellet
Low CP
(SBM)
High CP
(SBM)
High CP
(DDGS)
Average
daily feed
intake (lb/d)
3.36x
3.46y
3.31a
3.49b
3.42ab
Average
daily gain
(lb/d)
0.75x
0.76x
0.70a
0.76ab
0.82b
60
59
64
60
55
Feed to gain
ratio
5.07x
5.03x
5.32a
5.15a
4.67b
Feed $/lb of
gain
$0.81x
$0.82x
$0.84a
$0.85a
$0.75b
Days to
market*
*Calculated based on 45 lb gain

31. Ration Analysis
Form
Content
Non-Pellet
Pellet
Low CP
(SBM)
High CP
(SBM)
High CP
(DDGS)
Dry matter
86.7%x
86.9%x
87.1%a
86.3%b
87.0%a
Crude
protein
13.1%x
13.8%x
11.3%a
14.1%b
14.9%b
TDN
81.9%x
82.7%x
83.4%a
82.5%a
81.1%a
NDF
18.0%x
19.2%y
16.9%a
17.6%a
21.2%b
ADF
8.5%x
8.3%x
8.1%a
7.5%a
9.5%b
Calcium
0.56%x
0.55%x
0.50%a
0.58%a
0.59%a
Phosphorus
0.41%x
0.45%y
0.37%a
0.45%a
0.48%b
Ca:P
1.36%x
1.22%x
1.35%a
1.29%a
1.24%a

32. Feed bunks…

33. Issues
• Completed in two groups
▫ Group 1
 No major issues
 One lamb was euthanized after a physical injury
▫ Group 2
 Many lambs suffered from chronic lung infection
 Early struggle with coccidiosis
 Some deworming failure
 Detected by FAMACHA

34. A few points of consideration
• Assumed all feeds were purchased (non-pelleted
as well as pelleted)
▫ This artificially raised cost of non-pelleted ration
• Used fixed number of feeds (other feeds could be
available especially for pelleted ration)
▫ This artificially raised cost of pelleted ration

35. So would I pellet feed?
• I would formulate my concentrate
▫ Assuming not pelleting
 Limiting available ingredients
 Use home grown grains
▫ Assuming pelleting
 Using full number of available ingredients
 Both using and not using home grown grains
• Is pelleted ration is within $10 more per tonne of
non-pelleted ration
▫ Yes? Then “yes” I’d pellet
▫ No? Depends on labour savings potential

36. Protein level
• It appears the NRC targeted levels for growing
lambs may be too low for protein
▫ 0.70 vs. 0.79 lb/d (low vs. avg. high)
• But higher levels (of same ingredient) were no
cheaper per lb of gain
▫ 0.84 vs. $0.85 per lb of gain
• Is optimal in the middle somewhere?
▫ I don’t know

37. Cost of disease
• I cannot determine this statistically so it is only
an estimate to illustrate
▫ $0.23/lb
▫ For 65 to 110 lb this means $10.35/lamb
• Not including
▫ Medicine
▫ Dead lambs
▫ Frustration

38. DDGS
• Once again feeding DDGS is profitable
▫ $0.10/lb ~ $4.50 per lamb
▫ Very close to same savings as last time

39. DDGS value $/tonne =
(0.5417 x corn $/tonne) +
(0.4344 x soybean $/tonne)
$
125 $
150 $
Corn
175 $
200 $
225 $
250 $
275
525 $
296
$
309
$
323
$
336
$
350
$
364
$
377
$
Soybean Meal
$
550 $
307
$
320
$
334
$
347
$
361
$
374
$
388
$
575 $
318
$
331
$
345
$
358
$
372
$
385
$
399
$
600 $
328
$
342
$
355
$
369
$
383
$
396
$
410
$
625 $
339
$
353
$
366 $
380
$
393
$
407
$
420
$
650 $
350
$
364
$
377
$
391
$
404
$
418
$
431
$
675 $
361
$
375
$
388 $
402
$
415
$
429
$
442

40. Acknowledgements
• Funding
▫ OSMA and FIP
• Lambs
▫ Wicketthorn Livestock
• Feed
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Agribrands Purina Ltd.
Floradale Feed Mill Ltd.
KenPal Farm Products Inc.
B-W Feed and Seed Ltd.
Greenfield Ethanol
• Collaboration
▫ Ridgetown Campus Sheep Advisory Group
▫ Shepherds

41. Future Directions
• OSMA (FIP) - funded
▫ Ewe feed efficiency (preliminary trial)
 Breeding, gestation, lactation feed vs. lb of weaned
lamb
• OMAF - applied
▫ Lamb feed trials
▫ Ewe feed efficiency
▫ Pasture efficiency

42. Questions?
Paul Luimes
519-674-1500 x63550
pluimes@uoguelph.ca