The cattle industry and its associated markets are inherently volatile, leading producers to search for more economically sustainable production practices. Supplementation with high protein feed increases yearling gain. However, strategically supplementing in the latter half of the grazing season, as forage quality declines, could provide a more economical increase in gain and return to management. Therefore, a three-year experiment was conducted at the High Plains Agriculture Laboratory, in Sidney, NE. The effects of strategically supplementing dry distillers grains (DDG) on yearling cattle performance and return to management were compared among a variety of economic conditions. Yearlings (313±46 kg) were stocked at 4.3 ha/animal on crested wheatgrass pastures for an average of 112 days beginning in mid-May. They were supplemented either throughout the entire period (FULL), only during the latter part (STRAT), or not at all (CONT) (n = 4 reps/treatment in years 1 and 2, 3 reps/treatment in year 3). Supplemented yearlings received 1.59 kg of DDGs 6 days/week. On average, CP (%DM) of crested wheatgrass declined from 10.2 (May) to 6.8 (September), while IVDMD (%DM) declined from 51 (May) to 37 (September). There were no significant (P > 0.53) experimental year and treatment effects for cattle performance. However, there was an effect (P < 0.01) of treatment and year on ADG and final body weight. On average, non-supplemented yearlings had an average daily gain (ADG) of 0.68 kg/d. Providing supplement increased ADG by 0.23 kg/d (P < 0.01). Performance did not differ (P < 0.01) between STRAT and FULL, despite STRAT receiving nearly half (54%) the amount of supplement. Cattle and DDG prices from the previous decade (2012–2021) were applied to experimental data to create various potential marketing scenarios. Return to management was calculated as the return to labor costs for providing supplement. On average, FULL returned $14.96 more and STRAT returned $32.21 more per yearling than CONT. Within economic year, return of STRAT was greater (P ≤ 0.05) than CONT in all years except 2012, 2019 and 2021. Return of FULL was greater (P ≤ 0.05) than CONT in all years except 2012, 2018, 2019, and 2021. Numerically, STRAT was always greater than CONT and FULL. Higher DDG prices coupled with lower live cattle prices caused less return in those years. Breakeven DDG costs for STRAT averaged $530/909 kg and ranged from $268/909 kg to $822/909 kg. Applying a $0.30/yearling/day labor cost, the average breakeven for this strategy declines to $345/909 kg of DDG. These results suggest that strategically supplementing DDG as forage quality of crested wheatgrass declines in the summer will provide similar yearling performance to supplementing throughout the entire grazing season. Strategic supplementation also appears to have a high likelihood increasing return to management.

The in situ mobile bag procedure was used to compare rumen undegradable protein (RUP) content and RUP digestibility of Nebraska Sandhills range and meadow diet samples. Meadow samples (n = 12) were from June, July and August of 2 years while range samples (n = 19) were from June, July, September and December of 6 years. Samples were collected using esophageally fistulated cows (samples from 2 cows composited per time point), freeze-dried, and ground through a 2 mm screen. For each sample, 1.25 g was weighed into 8 replicate 8×10 cm Dacron bags with 50-µm pore size. Rumen incubation time was based on estimated digestibility and passage rate. Following rumen incubation, analysis of neutral detergent insoluble N (NDIN) on one-half of the bags was used to calculate RUP content. Remaining bags were treated with pepsin/HCl solution (37 °C) and stirred for three hours before duodenal incubation. Analysis of NDIN after recovery from feces determined RUP digestibility. Data were analyzed using month as a fixed effect and year and experiment as random effects. In meadow samples, CP (15.0% of DM) was consistent across June, July, and August (P = 0.72). Range samples tended to differ in CP content (P = 0.11), with June, July and September being similar (8.15% of DM) while December was 6.01%. In meadow samples, RUP averaged 21.9% of CP while range samples averaged 26.7% of CP, with no differences due to month (P ≥ 0.32). Because CP content was changing in range samples, RUP as a % of DM tended (P = 0.14) to decrease in December (1.66) compared to June, July, and Sept (2.25). In meadow samples, RUP digestibility (%) declined from 74.7% in June to 61.4% in July and Aug (P = 0.07). RUP digestibility (%) averaged 43.9% for all range samples (P = 0.66).

The effect of high protein dried distillers grains plus solubles in steam flaked corn (SFC) or dry rolled corn (DRC)-based diets on rumen fermentation and nutrient digestion was evaluated. Six ruminally and duodenally cannulated heifers were utilized in a 6×6 Latin Square experiment using a 2×3 factorial treatment design. One factor was SFC or DRC-based diets, and the other factor was a control with no DGS (CON), regularly produced DDGS (DDGS), or High Protein DDGS (HiPro) included at 30% in the diet (DM basis). Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS, with individual steer within period as the experimental unit. There was an interaction of apparent total tract starch digestibility (P 0.01), as including either DDGS or HiPro reduced starch digestibility in DRC-based diets and tended (P = 0.06) to reduce starch digestibility in SFC-based diets. Digestibility of starch was greater (P < 0.01) for SFC versus DRC-based diets across distillers treatments. Dry matter and OM apparent total tract digestibility was lowest (P < 0.01) for HiPro and DDGS was intermediate. There was no difference in molar acetate proportions (P > 0.43) between treatments. Dry rolled corn tended (P = 0.08) to have greater propionate proportion than SFC (44 vs 38%; respectively). Ammonia concentration was greater (P < 0.01) for DRC-based diets, and greatest for CON (P < 0.01) over DDGS and HiPro treatments. Average ruminal pH was unaffected by treatment (P > 0.16). Digestible energy (Mcal/kg) tended (P = 0.08) to be greater for CON over HiPro and DDGS. The use of HiPro did not affect apparent total tract nutrient digestibility as compared to DDGS in SFC or DRC-based diets. The use of either distillers product did result in a reduction in energy intake and digestibility, without affecting ruminal metabolic parameters.