Grain Sorghum as a Feedstuff For Livestock
What can I do right now to make my farm more viable? well, Anything and everything that contributes to lower cost of gain!!!
Improved genetics Improved health status Improved management Nutrition
So Why Corn? Cost/Availability/Palatability Consistent chemical composition Consistent and minimal issues with toxins and antinutrients Consistent and minimal issues with milling and handling characteristics
Domesticated as a human foodstuff and animal feed 3,000 to 5,000 years ago Became an important human foodstuff in drought-prone regions of the third world Hardy crop with a relatively low requirement for rainfall and/or irrigation
Renewed interest in sorghum grain as a foodstuff for humans and feedstuff for animals and for industrial applications such as ethanol production We are here to talk about sorghum as a feedstuff for animals!!
Cereals & ADG in Finishing Pigs kg CV 5 1.20 Corn vs others, sorg & wheat vs barley (P < 0.01) 1.01 0.99 0.99 0.95 0.89 0.70 Corn Sorghum Wheat Barley
Cereals & G/F in Finishing Pigs g/kg 360 338 Sorghum RFV = 95% Wheat RFV = 92% Barley RFV = 89% 325 321 312 301 290 Corn Sorghum Wheat Barley
Myths About Sorghum Grain as a Feedstuff
Myth 1 Low content and availability of nutrients
Corn vs Sorghum as % of NRC, 0-3wk a Nutrient Requirement, % Corn Sorghum Protein 23.0 38 41 Arginine 1.25 31 29 Gly + Ser 1.25 57 58 Histidine 0.35 67 65 Isoleucine 0.80 37 45 Leucine 1.20 85 98 Lysine 1.10 24 20 Met + Cys 0.90 41 38 Phe + Tyr 1.34 52 62 Proline 0.60?? Threonine 0.80 37 37 Tryptophan 0.20 31 41 Valine 0.90 46 50 a Adapted from NRC (1994). All values on a 90% DM basis.
So, sorghum has more of some AAs and vits and less of other AAs and vits and generally has more mineral content when compared to corn
Myth 2 Sorghum is full of tannins and mycotoxins
Tannins & Ileal Dig of DM in 82.0 79.3 Growing Pigs % SE 0.6 Corn vs Sorgs (P < 0.01) Sorg vs Tannin Sorg (P <.04) 76.1 76.0 71.6 70.0 Corn Sorghum Tannin Sorghum
Tannins & Ileal Dig of N in 87.0 81.6 Growing Pigs % SE 0.5 Corn vs Sorgs (P < 0.01) Sorg vs Tannin Sorg (P <.01) 78.8 77.0 69.6 67.0 Corn Sorghum Tannin Sorghum
U.S. sorghum is notoriously low for incidence of mycotoxins: The sorghum producing regions of the U.S. are dry Culture practices for production of sorghum do not coincide with climatic conditions needed for mold growth Physical characteristics of sorghum head vs ear of corn Genetic predisposition
Myth 3 Sorghum is inherently variable in feeding value
Sorghum does tend to be grown on less fertile soils, in areas of the US with less predictable weather, and in areas prone to drought stress Such extremes in growing conditions will induce variability in grain fill and chemical composition in any cereal grain But, just how much variation do growing conditions really cause?
kcal/kg Test Weight & MEn in Broiler Chicks 3,700 3,535 3,478 3,400 3,268 3,100 Normal Medium Light (55 lb/bu) (45 lb/bu) (35 lb/bu)
Myth 4 Sorghum is not responsive to advanced processing technologies
Grinding
Particle Size Recommendations Cereal Sows Gro-fin Nursery Layers Starter Corn < 600 < 600 < 600 > 1,000 < 600 Sorghum???? < 500 < 500 800 < 500 Wheat???? < 600 < 600????????
Mixing
X X X X X X X X X X Coefficient of Variation (CV) = standard deviation as a percentage of the mean
Mix Uniformity Broilers and nursery pigs: CV for salt, Cr or Microtracer < 20% Finishing pigs: CV for salt < 30%
Thermal Processing
Roasting Steam flaking Extrusion Pelleting
Why Extrude? Denature proteins Gelatinize starch Sterilize & form feed
Extruded Sorghum & ADG in Weanling Pigs g CV 6% 400 Extruded vs Ground (P < 0.05) 381 365 341 330 Sorghum Ext Sorghum
Pelleting ADG increased by 6% Gain/feed increased by 6 to 7% Independent of particle size Pellets of 4 to 6 mm diameter adequate for weaning to market
Pellet Quality & ADG in 1.00 Finishing Pigs kg SE.01 0.96 Linear effect of fines (P <.04) 0.93 0.93 0.89 0.90 0.85 Meal 0% 25% 50%
Pellet Quality Rice Cassava Wheat > Corn Sorghum
Myth 5 Sorghum-based coproducts are inferior in nutritional value
Nutrient Content of DDGS from Corn and Sorghums Item Dry matter, % CP, % Crude fat, % Crude fiber, % GE, Mcal/kg Corn Bronze Yellow Grain DDGS Grain DDGS Grain DDGS 91.9 90.3 91.9 90.4 91.9 88.9 8.0 23.9 9.8 26.6 9.3 25.6 3.9 8.1 3.0 8.1 3.0 8.0 3.2 11.0 2.6 8.5 2.4 9.5 4.00 4.55 4.20 4.53 3.98 4.33 Lysine, % Threonine, % Met + Cys, % 0.29 0.28 0.42 0.59 0.77 0.95 0.21 0.24 0.32 0.60 0.87 1.00 0.25 0.29 0.35 0.55 0.79 0.93
4600 kcal/kg MEn of Cereals and DDGS in Broiler Chicks Bronze vs yellow (P < 0.07), Grain vs DDGS (P < 0.001), Corn vs sorghums x grains vs DDGS (P < 0.10) 3,829 3,593 3,307 SE 180 3300 2,677 2,866 2,238 2000 Grain DDGS Grain DDGS Grain DDGS Corn Bronze Yellow
Sorghum-based DDGS and 600 g ADG in Nursery Pigs SE 10 Quadratic effect (P < 0.001) 486 499 466 450 398 324 300 Control 15% 30% 45% 60%
Sorghum-based DDGS and 850 650 g/kg G/F in Nursery Pigs 736 685 620 622 572 SE 40 Quadratic effect (P < 0.02) 450 Control 15% 30% 45% 60%
Sorghum-based DDGS are similar to corn-based DDGS for MEn in broilers.but may be a bit lower in availability of lysine As much as 20 to 30% DDGS in diets for pigs has no negative effects on growth performance and there is no evidence that this is different for sorghum- vs corn-based DDGS
Myth 6 Seed color is an indication of greater nutritional value of sorghum grain
Food Quality Sorghums & ME kcal/kg 4,000 3,600 3,734 in Growing Pigs SE 21 Corn vs Sorgs (P < 0.001), Pio vs Foods (P < 0.02), NC+ vs Car & Jow (P < 0.001), Car vs Jow (P < 0.001) 3,603 3,615 3,365 3,647 3,200 Corn Pioneer 8500 NC+ 7W97 Cargill 888Y Jowar 1
Pericarp and endosperm color do not seem to be nutritionally significant Starch type/texture and protein quality/quantity are nutritionally significant White seed/tan plant may be important in marketing and perception of sorghum but have no nutritional advantages
Conclusions Sorghum is an excellent feedstuff for livestock and poultry Fears about antinutrients and nutrient variability are generally unfounded Proper milling is critical when using sorghum Do not be afraid of complete substitution!!!