DDGS (distillery and soluble dry grains) is a co-product of the production of corn-based ethanol, and much has been said about it in recent years, especially in cattle farming, where the raw material aggregates quite nutritionally and economically, even more so. talk about feedlots or intensive grazing terminations (TIP). However, DDGS can be adapted to swine and poultry, mainly as a partial alternative to soy and corn due to the high values observed in the market.
Sugarcane today represents 95.2% of ethanol production, and corn production corresponds to 4.8%. The National Union of Corn Ethanol (Unem), estimates that in the 2029/2030 harvest, corn ethanol will reach a production of 8 billion liters, which represents 19 million tons of processed corn. For each ton of corn processed, 28.5% of co-products are produced, which results in an estimated 5.4 million tons of DDG for the 2029/2030 harvest.
Nutritional levels can vary widely depending on the type and cultivar of the grain, the time of year, the region, the point of harvest, fertilization, etc. But, in general, DDGS has 25% to 32% PB, 38% to 45% NDF, 8% to 12% lipids, 80% of which are unsaturated fatty acids, improving the chemical composition of milk, it also presents from 85% to 90% of NDT (Ruminants), for poultry and pigs, despite presenting a better amino acid profile, care should be taken with lysine and methionine.
| Essential Amino Acid Content (%) do DDGS, F. de soy and corn |
| Amino Acids Corn¹ F. de soy ¹ DDGS Corn² |
| Arginine 0,37 3,35 1,13 |
| Histidine 0,24 1,20 0,80 |
| Isoleucine 0,26 2,13 1,34 |
| Lysine 0,23 2,80 0,97 |
| Methionine 0,16 0,61 0,77 |
| phenylalanine 0,37 2,34 1,70 |
| Threonine 0,31 1,78 1,32 |
| tryptophan 0,06 0,64 0,26 |
| Valine 0,36 2,22 1,75 |
| Leucine 0,95 3,51 4,63 |
| source: 1 = adaptad from Rostagno et al. (2017), 2= OPTA Alimentos |
In pigs, up to 30% can be included in the nursery without compromising yield, and up to 50% of inclusion for growing pigs, sows in gestation and lactation. In birds, more care should be taken, with a maximum of 6% indicated in the initial phase and 15% in growth and termination, I repeat, with an eye on lysine and methionine, limiting amino acids. For cattle, the high content of NDF assists in ruminal motility, salivation, a source of non-degradable protein in the rumen (PNDR) among other benefits for ruminants. Little has been studied in companion animals about the use of DDGS.
In the United States, which uses corn as the main source of ethanol, there is also talk of dry high-protein distillery grains (HPDDG), wet soluble distillery grains (WDGS) and high-protein wet distillery grains (HPWDG).
