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Corn co-products take center stage at field dayMissouri More than 125 cattlemen and livestock producers gathered at Barnitz Farms, near Lake Spring, Mo., on Jan. 17, to learn more about accessing, utilizing and storing distillers grains, an ethanol co-product high in protein, energy and phosphorus. Sponsored by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, University of Missouri Extension and South Ozarks Premier Beef Marketers, LLC, the field day garnered interest from a large geographic region. Producers came from counties as far away as Lawrence and Howell to Laclede and Osage to attend the educational event. "This field day provided an excellent opportunity for livestock producers to see corn co-products utilized effectively in a beef backgrounding operation," said Gary Wheeler, Missouri Corn director of business development. "We hope, through field days like this one, we can help cattle producers add to their bottom line by incorporating the latest feeding and storage techniques for this high-quality feedstuff." The field day featured a tour of storage facilities, feeding equipment and a feedlot where ethanol co-products are currently being used and evaluated. Lunch was provided by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council and was prepared by the Dent County Cattlemen's Association. The event wrapped up with comments from the host, Senator Frank Barnitz, D-Lake Spring. "We had a really big crowd with a lot of interest in corn co-products," Sen. Barnitz said. "I think the economics from the cost of the feed and the quality that we've seen with cows on grass, distillers grains are a big benefit. When you buy a commercial product that costs $10 or $12 or $14 a hundredweight versus something that costs about half that, the economics are certainly there to try to feed something of less cost, yet equal quality." In addition to attending future field days, livestock producers can learn more about corn co-products through a distillers grains guide produced by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Missouri Cattlemen's Association and University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The manual is available online at www.mocorn.org under the research tab or by calling the Missouri Corn office at 800-827-4181. To learn more about corn and related co-products, visit Missouri Corn Online at www.mocorn.org.
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