Evaluation of Wheat Middlings as a Supplement for Beef Cows Grazing Native Winter Range

A winter grazing trial was conducted at the SDSU Cottonwood Research Station near Cottonwood, SD, to compare wheat middlings to soybean meal and corn-soybean meal supplements. During December and January 122 pregnant Simmental-Angus crossbred cows grazing two pastures with differing amounts of available forage were fed four supplemental treatments that provided the following amounts of crude protein (Ib) and metabolizable energy (Mcal) per cow daily: I) soybean meal .75 and 2.40, 2) corn-soybean meal 1.50 and 9.40, 3) low wheat middlings .75 and 4.76, and 4) high wheat middlings 1.50 and 9.40. Cows grazing the high available forage pasture gained 56 Ib more than those grazing the low available forage pasture. Cows grazing the high available forage pasture were able to select a diet higher in crude protein and lower in acid = detergent fiber. The supplement x pasture interaction indicates that level of forage availability is a factor in determining a cow's response to the supplemental treatment. When forage availability was low, wheat middlings was a less effective source of supplemental protein than soybean meal and a less effective source of supplemental energy compared to a corn-soybean meal supplement balanced to provide equal protein and energy. For cows grazing the high available forage pasture, soybean meal and the low wheat middlings supplements produced similar cow weight gains and the high wheat middlings supplement was a less effective source of supplemental energy than the corn-soybean meal supplement. Cows grazing the high forage pasture receiving 1.89 Ib soybean meal had similar weight gains and lower supplement cost than cows grazing the low forage pasture receiving 6.59Ib of the corn-soybean meal supplement.