EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 257 



DRIED BEET PULP FOR FATTENING STEERS. 



R. S. SHAW AND H. W. NORTOX, JR. 



Bulletin No. 247. 



With the development of the beet sugar industry in this state, dried 

 beet pulp has been placed on the market in large quantities and rec- 

 ommended for feeding purposes. Much of it has been used by stock- 

 men and feeders throughout the state and many questions have been 

 asked regarding its feeding value. Dried beet pulp is a by-product 

 of the beet sugar factory and consists of the refuse pulp which has 

 been dried sufficiently to expel the greater part of the moisture con- 

 tent, go that it can be placed upon the market and handled with other 

 feeds. 



Its analysis, as compared with corn meal, given in Michigan Bul- 

 letin 234, is as follows: 



Dry matter and digestible material in one pound: 



Carbohydrates Nutritive 

 Dry Matter. Protein. , and Fat. Ratio. 



Dried beet pulp 901 .075 .614 8.1 



Corn meal 894 .078 .772 9.8 



The protein content is very nearly the same in the two, but the car- 

 boh^'drates and fat, especially the latter, are considerably higher in corn 

 meal. It would, however, be classed with corn meal as a fattening food 

 according to chemical composition. Several tests have, therefore, been 

 carried on at this station for the purpose of securing information relative 

 to its value for various feeding purposes. Bulletin 220, of this sta- 

 tion, treats of the value of dried pulp for fattening sheep. In the tests 

 reported, both plain dried and dried molasses pulp were used against 

 corn, and the conclusions reached were: 



(1) Both dried beet pulp and dried molasses beet pulp are possessed 

 of feeding values comjjaring very favorably with corn. 



(2) Grain mixtures containing dried beet pulp produce mutton at 

 a less cost than similar amounts of grain mixtures alone. 



In the tests reported herein, comparisons have been made of the 

 feeding values of dried beet pulp and corn meal for fattening steers. 

 Three trials are reported. In the first, during the winter of 1904 

 and 1905, only two lots of steers were used, one lot receiving beet pulp 

 in the grain ration, the other receiving corn meal. In each of the two 

 later tests, January to May, 1906, and August to December, 1906, a 

 third lot was entered and received a combination grain ration, con- 

 sisting of equal parts by weight of the grain mixtures fed to the other 

 two lots. 



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