How to Store Wet Distillers & Corn Stalks

Wet distiller's grain is a by-product of the grain or corn ethanol industry. The material is what is left after the starch in the grain has been converted to sugars by malting and the sugars have been converted to alcohol by yeast. The alcohol is concentrated by distillation and used as a fuel. The resulting wet distiller's grain is high in protein, making it an ideal livestock feed. However, at up to 65 percent moisture, it spoils in a matter of days. By combining it with dry mater, e.g., corn stalks, it can be stored for later feeding.

Things You'll Need

  • Wet distiller's grain
  • Corn stalks
  • Silage chopper or mixer
  • Silage bag and blower
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use a silage chopper or blower to mix the wet distiller's grain with chopped corn stalks. The North Dakota State University Extension Office suggests limiting corn stalks, or other dry mater, to less than 50 percent of the volume of the silage or mix.

    • 2

      Store the mix in silage bags or a silage pile. Leave some air space in the silage bags to allow for the gases that will be created when the mix continues to ferment. This fermentation creates the chemical makeup of the silage, necessary to retard spoilage.

    • 3

      Have the silage mix analyzed to determine its nutritional content. If the dry mater ratio is too high, it may be necessary to supplement the silage mix with additional high-nutrition feeds in the livestock ration.