Limit feeding nonlactating, nonpregnant beef cows with bunkered wet distillers grains plus solubles or distillers solubles1

Nonlactating, nonpregnant beef cows (593 ± 10.0 kg) were used in a completely randomized design to evaluate the performance of limit-fed diets containing bunkered wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS; n = 24) or bunkered condensed corn distillers solubles (DS; n = 22) compared with a control diet offered ad libitum (CON; n = 24). Cows were stratified by age and BW and randomly assigned to pens (3 pens/treatment, 7 or 8 cows per pen). The WDGS and DS were mixed and stored with 30% and 59% ground cornstalks (DM basis), respectively, for 30 d before feeding. Diets were fed for 76 d and formulated to maintain BW. Both WDGS and DS diets contained 41% by-product and 59% cornstalks at time of feeding, with DMI limited to 7.7 kg/d. The CON diet consisted of 43% bromegrass hay, 34% cornstalks, and 23% alfalfa haylage and was fed ad libitum (DMI = 10.4 kg/d). The WDGS diet was 4.1% fat and 0.24% sulfur. The DS diet was 5.5% fat and 0.37% sulfur on a DM basis. Initial BW and BCS among treatments were similar. Final BW was greater (P < 0.05) for cows fed WDGS (625.5 kg) than for cows fed the DS (611.8 kg) and CON treatments (610.9 kg). Gain tended (P = 0.09) to be greater for the WDGS group (0.37 kg/d) compared with the CON group (0.20 kg/d). Limit feeding diets of either WDGS or DS stored in a bunker with ground cornstalks to nonlactating beef cows results in similar performance to that of full-fed control cows.