Beware when buying DDGs
Several experts at the National Pork Producers’ Council (NPPC) have warned for low-quality co-products for feed from the ethanol industry.
Quality varies a lot and depends on the source, was the message, sent out at an NPPC session on distillers grains held in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
Quality is improving and the industry is working on uniform guidelines for testing dried distillers grains (DDGs), but other factors can work against that trend, too.
Know your DDGs
Buyers should know where the DDGs originate and how they are made, said Randy Ives of United BioEnergy, a Wichita, Kansas company that provides management and marketing services to ethanol plants, including sales of DDGs.
The industry has about five experienced companies that design and build ethanol plants, Ives said, but in the rush to expand, another 15 or so with less experience are building plants.
With 85% or more of their revenue coming from sales of ethanol, the emphasis is on making as much ethanol as possible, which can have an affect on quality of DDGs.
Related websites:
• National Pork Producers Council (NPPC)
• United BioEnergy
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