Some dairies are using corn gluten pellets as a lower-cost alternative to manufactured robot pellets. Are corn gluten pellets right for your dairy? It depends on your robotic milking system and what you expect your robot feed to do. Corn gluten pellets generally cost less per ton than manufactured robot pellets and palatability is usually good. On the other hand, nutrient content and pellet durability for corn gluten feed can vary, and nutrient density is often lower than manufactured pellets. What is corn gluten feed and what determines whether it is a fit for your cows?
What is Corn Gluten Feed?
Corn gluten pellets are a by-product of wet-milling corn for ethanol, oil, or syrup. Corn is cooked to remove the germ, gluten and starch. The bran, which is the outside of the kernel, remains. It is mixed with steep liquor, another by-product from the milling process, and dried and pelleted to make corn gluten pellets. The pellets are dark in color and have a very distinctive smell. Nutritional comparisons to Partial Mixed Ration (PMR), and robot pellets are as follows.
What do you want from your robot feed?
The primary reason for feeding in robots is to encourage cows to come to the robots. Robot feeds also satisfy nutrient requirements and keep cows busy while they are being milked. To accomplish those things, robot feeds need to balance cost, availability, palatability, nutrient content, stability in storage, and durability in handling.
Bring cows to the robot
Robot feed attracts cows to the robot through nutrient content and palatability. Obviously, cows are more likely to come to the robot if they like the pellet. Palatability is always important. Nutrient balance between the bunk and the robot feed is usually more important than palatability for maintaining cow flow in free-flow barns. Many farms reduce starch in the PMR so that cows come to the robot to satisfy their energy needs. This works best if the robot feed is significantly higher in starch than the PMR. Corn gluten pellets are likely to have less starch than the PMR. Manufactured robot pellets can be formulated with more starch than the PMR. The higher starch in manufactured robot pellets may bring cows to the robots more effectively than the lower starch in corn gluten pellets in free-flow barns. Starch content may be less important in guided-flow barns.
Satisfy nutrient requirements
Forage quality will determine the importance of the nutrients provided by the robot feed. If forage quality is low, a manufactured pellet can be formulated to supplement the nutrients that are missing from the forage. Manufactured feeds with higher nutrient density can complete the ration at lower feeding rates, as compared to corn gluten pellets. Cows can consume a durable manufactured pellet more quickly than they can consume a corn gluten pellet with more fines. With high quality forages, the need for supplemental nutrients is not as great. When forage quality is high, it may be better if the energy content of the robot feed is similar to the energy content of the PMR. To a point, the robot feed and high quality PMR can be almost interchangeable. Manufactured pellets can also be formulated with nutrient content similar to the PMR.
Keep cows busy
Cost and palatability are the most important factors if the pellet is only needed to keep cows busy in the robot. Pellet durability can impact palatability. Cows like the smell and taste of corn gluten pellets but they may back away if pellets break down in during handling and there are too many fines. Fines tend to move through the system at a different rate than pellets, so they may accumulate at the beginning or end of the load or bin. This inconsistency can affect visits and production.
Manufactured robot pellets are the standard of the industry for consistency, pellet durability, and nutrient composition. Corn gluten pellets can work as a less expensive alternative if the compromises can be managed. Work with your nutritionist to determine the best feed for your cows and your robots. Cow Corner can monitor intake and settings to make sure the cows are getting what you and your nutritionist want them to have.
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