Almond hulls and shells as an alternative fiber source in limit-fed growing beef cattle diets.

Almond hulls and shells are a by-product of almond production that can be incorporated as a feed ingredient in beef cattle diets. Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of hammermill screen size on almond hull and shell bulk density and inclusion of ground or non-ground almond hulls and shells in limit-fed growing diets on growth performance, diet digestibility, and ruminal fermentation characteristics of beef cattle. In experiment 1, almond hulls and shells were ground with a laboratory-scale hammermill using no screen, a 11.1-mm screen, a 19.1-mm screen, or a 25.4-mm screen. Each screen-size treatment was ground at three separate time points (n= 3 replications/treatment). Grinding almond hulls and shells with no screen increased bulk density by 111% and minimized proportions of fine particles; therefore, almond hulls and shells ground using no screen were included as a treatment in the following experiments. In experiment 2, 364 steers (initial body weight [BW]: 257±â€…20.7 kg) were blocked by truckload (n = 4), stratified by BW, and assigned to pen within block. Pens were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental diets (n= 10 pens/treatment). The control diet (CON) contained (DM basis) 39.5% dry-rolled corn, 7.5% supplement, 40% wet-corn gluten feed, and 13% prairie hay. Non-ground (13AH) or ground (13GAH) almond hulls and shells replaced prairie hay and were fed at 13% of diet DM or non-ground almond hulls and shells were fed at 26% of diet DM and replaced 13% prairie hay and 13% dry-rolled corn (26AH). Diets were limit-fed at 2.2% of BW daily (DM basis) for 56 d. Overall average daily gains (ADG) were greater (P ≤ 0.05) for CON, 13AH, and 13GAH compared with 26AH. In addition, ADG from days 14 to 56 were greater (P= 0.03) for 13GAH and tended to be greater (P = 0.09) for 13AH compared with CON. Experiment 3 was a 4 × 4 replicated Latin square in which 8 ruminally cannulated heifers (initial BW = 378 ±â€…44.0 kg) were fed diets from experiment 2. Apparent dry matter digestibility did not differ (P = 0.21) among treatments. Total ruminal volatile fatty acid concentrations were greater (P ≤ 0.03) for 13GAH and 13AH compared with 26AH and tended (P = 0.06) to be greater for 13GAH compared with CON. Overall, almond hulls and shells can be utilized as an alternative to prairie hay in limit-fed growing diets without negatively influencing rates of gain or diet digestibility.

Using caloric efficiency to estimate the net energy value of expelled, extruded soybean meal relative to dehulled, solvent-extracted soybean meal and its effects on growth performance of nursery pigs.

This study aimed to estimate the net energy (NE) value of expelled, extruded soybean meal (MSBM) relative to dehulled, solvent-extracted soybean meal (SSBM) and determine its effects on growth performance of late nursery pigs. A total of 297 pigs (DNA 241 × 600) were weaned (BW 5.10 kg) and placed into 60 pens (2 rooms of 30 pens) with 5 pigs per pen balanced by gender and weaning weight. Pigs were fed a common diet for 21 d. Then, pens of pigs (BW 9.3 kg) were randomly assigned to one of five treatments to provide 12 replications per treatment. Treatments consisted of increasing amounts of MSBM replacing SSBM in the diet (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). All diets were fed for 28 d and were formulated to 1.30% standardized ileal digestible lysine and met or exceeded requirements for amino acids, calcium, and phosphorus. The SSBM diet was formulated to 2,421 kcal/kg and NE was not balanced between diets. Analyzed values for CP, EE, CF, and total lysine for the SSBM were 47.28%, 0.47%, 3.80%, and 3.00%, whereas the MSBM contained 47.41%, 6.88%, 5.32%, and 2.99%, respectively. The MSBM had increased values for KOH solubility and trypsin inhibitor (83.62% and 7,026 TIU/g) compared to the SSBM (73.05% and 3,011 TIU/g), whereas urease activity was similar between the two (0.03 and 0.02 Δ pH, respectively). Data were analyzed using Proc GLIMMIX (SAS 9.4; Cary, NC) with pen as the experimental unit and room as the blocking factor. There was no evidence of differences in ADG and ADFI in pigs fed diets with increasing concentrations of MSBM. Pigs fed diets with increasing concentrations of MSBM had improved (linear, P < 0.001) G:F and caloric efficiency on an NE basis. Using caloric efficiency to estimate NE of the MSBM relative to SSBM, MSBM was estimated to have a value of 2,566 kcal/kg. In conclusion, MSBM contains approximately 123% of the energy of SSBM, which improved feed efficiency when fed to nursery pigs.