Using grains on lawns-Proteins!

[starry night]

I'm not sure but I'm curious as to what parts of the corn grain remains after the distilling process. Chemically and physically, what is taken out and what remains?
Marcos, I presume you are using dried DG? Also, what kind of operation are you getting it from?

I'm seeing a lot of red thread here, too. But, like you, not so much on my organic lawns.

[White Gardens]

Try this. It's just Wikipedia, so I'm sure there might be some flaws.

Ethanol Production



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[Marcos]

Originally Posted by dirtandhoops

I'm not sure but I'm curious as to what parts of the corn grain remains after the distilling process. Chemically and physically, what is taken out and what remains?
Marcos, I presume you are using dried DG? Also, what kind of operation are you getting it from?

I'm seeing a lot of red thread here, too. But, like you, not so much on my organic lawns.

Where do I get it?
A very well-established well-known Midwest-based Ag distributor.

In this article & in Ag circles, DG is always referred to as DDGS, or "dried distillers grains with solubles". This link is very much farm-related, but it's still very much worth the time to read because it looks at DG's fertilizer potential from an Ag perspective, looking out:

http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.or...08/distillers/

Obviously ethanol production has grown exponentially since this Ag-related link was released about 3 years ago.
In the US with more & more ethanol plants coming on-line combined with higher beef prices (driven partially by higher foreign demand), market forces are such that both forms of DG most likely will remain plentiful, & thus relatively affordable.
This is great news for livestock farmers who (according to this link) use by far the majority of distillers grains produced as cattle feed.
And of course this is also a great deal for "specialty market" buyers, like us.

Clue: If you're considering early order load-your-shed savings deals this fall, and you're considering DG as a part of that package, don't listen to or read corn futures!

[starry night]

Marcos, I wasn't trying to "steal" your source. I just meant the [B]original[B] source e.g. ethanol production.

[White Gardens]

Originally Posted by Marcos

market forces are such that both forms of DG most likely will remain plentiful, & thus relatively affordable.
This is great news for livestock farmers who (according to this link) use by far the majority of distillers grains produced as cattle feed.
And of course this is also a great deal for "specialty market" buyers, like us.

Clue: If you're considering early order load-your-shed savings deals this fall, and you're considering DG as a part of that package, don't listen to or read corn futures!

As someone who was hauling Gluten for cattle feed for a while I have to disagree. Corn Futures do have an impact on DDGS.

It always seemed to fluctuate with the rise in feed prices coupled by the Europeans who are the biggest consumers of DDGS products for cattle feed. (they won't feed american bio-engineered products directly to their livestock but they'll buy the DDGS with no problems. ). Last year when Europe had their debt crisis and credit dried up for them, the price of DDGS went through the roof.

Farmers used to get DDGS for free, then they started to charge for it once the Ethanol plants seen a demand for it and could also make some money to keep them in the black. It's been a while since I've been to the ethanol plant, but I'm guessing the pricing keeps going up.

At some point I'm guessing the DDGS isn't going to be viable for LCO's when the price hits a certain point.

And I just took a gander at the pricing. It's more than double what it was this time last year. Dry DDGS was at $50 a ton last year, now it's almost tripled. Corn Gluten Meal has almost gone up 5 times also, and that is the high protein stuff that is used for lawn applications.

DDGS Pricing





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[Marcos]

Originally Posted by White Gardens

And I just took a gander at the pricing. It's more than double what it was this time last year. Dry DDGS was at $50 a ton last year, now it's almost tripled. Corn Gluten Meal has almost gone up 5 times also, and that is the high protein stuff that is used for lawn applications.

DDGS Pricing

About 11 months ago DDGS was hovering around $160 / ton.
The closest it's been to $50 / ton in recent years was May / June '05 when it bottomed out a few times at around $75 / ton.

If last year you purchased DDGS at $50 / ton ($1.25 / 50# sack), you probably got a deal on product deemed spoiled, or otherwise unsuitable as a livestock feed.