Stocker operators often feed supplemental energy to calves on forage-based diets to increase gain, stocking rate, or both. Historically, the standard energy supplement has been grainbased, in conjunction with a protein source to optimize ruminal fermentation. However, our team often recommends hand-feeding a blend of mostly byproduct ingredients, including beet pulp, soybean hulls, wheat middlings, etc. While the calculated, or “book,” energy values (TDN = 69-74%) of these byproducts are significantly lower than that of corn (TDN = 89.5%), several experiments have concluded that their actual nutritive value, when supplementing a forage-based diet, is equal to corn.
