By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

HILLSBORO, Ohio — When Dale Jackson harvested his wheat crop last year, it wasn’t what he expected. His out-of-condition wheat was an all-time low for his crop. Fortunately, his barley and corn didn’t face the same fate.
This season, Jackson expects a similar result from his wheat – below-quality standards for milling.

“For starters, the weather wasn’t cooperative, but more and more of us in Ross and surrounding counties have used much of the low-quality wheat as a supplement for our livestock feed,” he said.

“There have been some cautions put out on this practice, but it’s nothing new, and even my dad fed his livestock this castaway wheat. When done properly, any farmer can use this right on the farm and eventually we’ll find a market for this normally-discarded wheat.”

Terry Smithson of Brown County uses alfalfa, rice straw and wheat in his cattle rations. While wheat remains a small percentage of his concoction, he said adding wheat on a small scale is not only beneficial, but saves on his feed bill.
“I’ve been using alfalfa, straw and wheat since 1968,” he said. “Many farmers nowadays are making do with what they have on hand as a way of keeping costs down. And the use of low-quality wheat is becoming a standard practice.”

Wheat that doesn’t meet quality standards may make its way into feed and may support this alternative market. But some experts give warnings about this practice.

Stephen Boyles, an Ohio State University extension beef specialist, said as a general rule, mold-free wheat may be used to substitute up to 50 percent of the grain portion of finishing diets for cattle.

“While some experienced feeders have used larger amounts of wheat, I tend to recommend lower levels to people not familiar with feeding wheat,” he said. “When feeding lower-quality wheat, limit wheat to 40 percent of dry matter or 50 percent of corn in the diet, whichever is highest.

“Also, one should take longer to build up to full feed that you would with corn, and carefully monitor consumption. I would not recommend using wheat in high-grain diets on self-feeders or in creep rations. Salt might be used as an intake inhibitor for cattle on grass using a self-feeder.”

Boyles said the way wheat is processed is important. Jackson, who tends a 120-head operation, agrees.

Jackson makes use of a wheat flour machine capable of producing up to 1,000 metric tons of wheat meal feed per day.

“It’s true that although the kernel must be cracked or broken, overprocessing will result in the production of many fine particles that are unwanted, since the rate of wheat starch digestion in the rumen is very rapid,” Jackson said.
Boyles, Jackson and Smithson agree that an excessive amount of fine particles will cause generally low and erratic intake, digestive upset and poor performance. This is why all three recommend farmers limit the amount of wheat in the ration and keep an eye on the fiber content.

“Rolling rather than grinding generally results in fewer fine particles,” Boyles said. “If wheat is roll-dried, it should be rolled or ground as coarsely as possible while still breaking all the kernels. Mixing grains should occur after grain processing rather than before. Mix wheat with silage, haylage or corn grain to reduce the risk of animals eating too much at one time.”

Boyles said farmers should feed animals at least 15 percent roughage, making sure the rations contain approximately 6-10 percent fiber.

Also, not all discarded wheat should be considered. Boyles warned that while using sprouted wheat does not appear to affect the nutritional value of the grain, those feeding this to cattle must be aware that mold and fungal infestations are more likely in sprouted wheat. He also warned that feeding moldy wheat to livestock could result in mycotoxin poisoning.