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An experiment was conducted at a commercial, dry-grind ethanol plant to determine if selected additives would improve flowability of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Main treatment effects were moisture content of DDGS (9 vs. 12% w.b.) and anti-caking agent (ACA). The ACA treatments were: No additive (Control); a moisture migration control agent at 2.5 kg/metric ton (DMX-7); calcium carbonate at 2% w.b. (Calcium carbonate); or a clinoptilolite zeolite at 1.25% w.b. (Zeolite). The ACA were added at the desired level to about 2,275 kg of DDGS using a vertical-screw feed mixer. Batches of DDGS were weighed and loaded into one of eight compartments in an auger-equipped feed truck. After loading, the truck traveled 250 km, sat motionless for at least 60 h, and traveled 250 km back to the ethanol plant. Time required to unload each compartment was recorded. There were no significant interactions between moisture level and ACA for any response criteria. Mean moisture levels were 9% and 11.6% for low and high moisture treatments. Flow rate of DDGS at unloading was higher (P < 0.01) for the 9% compared with 12% moisture level (620 vs. 390 kg/min). Flow rates of DDGS at unloading were: 509 (Control), 441 (DMX-7), 512 (Calcium carbonate), and 558 (Zeolite) kg/min. None of the ACA created flow rates that differed significantly from Control. In conclusion, increasing moisture content from 9% to 11.6% clearly decreased flowability of DDGS. The ACA used in this experiment at the selected concentrations did not improve flowability of DDGS. Keywords. Flowability, DDGS, Angle of repose, Anti-caking agents he Energy Policy Act passed by the U. S. Congress in 2005 mandates that 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels be included in gasoline sold in the United States by the year 2012 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008). This mandate has supported the rapid expansion of ethanol production in the United States. Ethanol production in 2008 is projected to be nearly 8 billion gallons (Renewable Fuels Association, 2008). Dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) is an important co-product of ethanol production. About 7.2 kg of DDGS and 10.6 L of ethanol are produced from 25 kg of corn. Consequently, large quantities of DDGS are available for feeding livestock domestically and internationally. DDGS has many positive attributes for the feeding of livestock (University of Minnesota, 2008). Unfortunately, DDGS can have some undesirable handling characteristics related to poor flowability under certain conditions (Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) and Minn. Corn Growers Assoc., 2005; Bhadra et al., 2008). Reduced flowability, or the potential for reduced flowability of DDGS prevents the routine use of railcars for transport. Reduced flowability and bridging of DDGS in bulk storage containers and transport vehicles limits the use of DDGS for feeding

BackgroundThe immense growth in global bioethanol production has greatly increased the supply of by-products such as whole stillage and condensed distiller’s solubles, which could be potentially used for animal feeding. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of liquid feeding high levels of corn condensed distiller’s solubles (CCDS) and whole stillage (CWS) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, belly firmness and meat sensory traits of pigs.MethodsA total of 256 pigs were blocked by sex and initial BW (13.5 ± 2.5 kg), and pens of pigs (8 pigs/pen) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (8 pens/treatment): 1) corn-soybean meal based diet as control, 2) 25% CWS + 5% CCDS, 3) 19.5% CWS + 10.5% CCDS, and 4) 19.5, 26, and 32.5% CWS + 10.5, 14, and 17.5% CCDS in phases 1 (28 d), 2 (38 d), and 3 (60 d), respectively. Inclusion levels of CCDS and CWS for Treatments 1, 2, and 3 were fixed during all the three phases of the experiment. Inclusion levels of CWS and CCDS were on 88% dry matter basis. The liquid feeding system delivered feed from the mixing tank to feed troughs by high-pressure air, had sensors inside feed troughs, and recorded daily feed intake on the basis of a reference feed intake curve. The pigs were fed 5 to 10 times per day with increasing frequency during the experiment.ResultsControl pigs had greater (P < 0.05) average daily gain (0.91 vs. 0.84, 0.85, 0.85 kg/d) and gain to feed ratio (0.37 vs. 0.33, 0.34, 0.34) than pigs in the other three treatments during the overall period. Compared with the control, the other three groups had (P < 0.05) or tended to have (P < 0.10) lower carcass weight and backfat depth due to lighter (P < 0.05) slaughter body weight, but similar (P > 0.10) dressing percentage, loin muscle depth, and lean percentage were observed among the four treatments. Inclusion of CWS and CCDS reduced (P < 0.05) or tended to reduce (P < 0.10) belly firmness but did not influence (P > 0.10) the overall like, flavor, tenderness and juiciness of loin chops when compared with the control group.ConclusionIn conclusion, our results indicate that including 30–50% of a mixture of whole stillage and condensed distiller’s solubles in the growing-finishing diets may reduce growth performance, carcass weight and belly firmness, but does not affect pork sensory traits.

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