The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) office in Taiwan had consultant Jerry Shurson, a professor at the University of Minnesota, visit the country late last month to bolster their ongoing efforts to promote the use of low-oil U.S. distiller’s dried grain with solubles (DDGS) in poultry rations.
Low-oil DDGS are becoming the norm for the U.S. corn co-product as the U.S. ethanol industry has been utilizing corn oil extraction equipment, which removes a portion of the non-food grade corn oil in DDGS during the ethanol production process. This makes the oil available for other uses and changes the feeding characteristics and potential value of U.S. DDGS.
In order to help Taiwanese poultry and livestock producers adapt their rations to low-oil DDGS, the Council arranged visits between Shurson and the Taiwan Feed Industry Association, the Livestock Research Institute, trading companies, feed mills and universities. During those meetings, Shurson discussed ways to improve feed formulation accuracy in DDGS diets; challenges in shipping and storage of DDGS due to particle size; and the variations in nutrition al value of DDGS.
“This visit helped build the Taiwanese feed industry’s confidence in U.S. low-oil DDGS,” said USGC Director in Taiwan Clover Chang. “However, there is still much work to do as DDGS is only being used conservatively by feed millers who do not fully understand low-oil DDGS nutritional composition. To help overcome this, we are suggesting several tests and formula equations that may help reassure the industry in the feeding value of U.S. DDGS.”
The Council will continue to promote U.S. low-oil DDGS to Taiwanese buyers and end-users through one-on-one consultations, meetings and seminars.
“Taiwan’s feed and livestock industries are very eager to learn more about how to utilize low-oil U.S. DDGS in their rations,” Chang said. “This way they can effectively increase DDGS in their feed formulations and create low-cost rations that meet the nutritional specifications they desire.”
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