Associated Press
06-22-06
Cheap cattle feed from ethanol could boost Iowa beef
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Cheap cattle feed pouring out of the state's ethanol plants
could give the state's cattle industry a competitive edge.
Experts says the high-protein feed, called distillers grain, could be used to
expand cattle production and return Iowa to a top beef-producing state.
About 18 pounds of the grain is left over from every bushel of corn used to make
ethanol.
Feed costs incorporating distillers grains can range from 38-cents to 72-cents aday for cattle, compared with the herd average cost of around a-dollar.
John Lawrence of the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University says
ethanol is making the difference, and is one of those events that will "change the
face of agriculture."
From 1968 to 1972, Iowa was the nation's top cattle marketer, selling four (m)
million head a year, or 18 percent of the nation's cattle production. Iowa now
ranks sixth.
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