DIGESTIBILITY OF CEREAL-GRAINS, SUGAR-BEET PULP AND MOLASSES IN CATTLE

3Four digestibility experiments were carried out with steers offered s ilage alone or with concentrate supplements. Digestibility values for silage were obtained when silage only was offered and the digestibilit ies of the concentrate supplements (0.5 to 0.6 of total dry matter (DM ) intake) were calculated by difference. In Experiment 1, digestible o rganic matter in the DM (DOMD) of rolled barley, whole barley, rolled wheat, whole wheat, and molasses plus soyabean meal were 794, 468, 813 , 421 and 667 (s.e.d. 27.1) g/kg, respectively. In Experiment 2, DOMD of rolled barley, molasses product A (molasses and condensed molasses solubles in the ratio 4:1) plus soyabean meal and molasses product B ( product A with inclusion of 30 g/kg fishmeal and 100 g/kg of poultry o ffal) were 741, 664 and 641 (s.e.d. 10.2) g/kg, respectively. In Exper iment 3, organic matter digestibility (OMD) of rolled barley and whole barley treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were 818 and 710 (s.e.d. 13.7) g/kg, respectively. In Experiment 4, OMD of rolled barley, whole barley treated with NaOH, rolled wheat, whole wheat treated with NaOH , molassed beet pulp (MBP), and MBP treated with NaOH were 733, 732, 7 86, 769, 800 and 774 (s.e.d. 27.5) g/kg, respectively. It is concluded that i) rolling grains for cattle increased digestibility from about 440 to 800 g/kg, ii) NaOH treatment may be as effective as dry rolling as a cereal processing procedure, and iii) rolled barley had higher D OMD values than molasses plus soyabean meal or molasses-based products .