Effects of corn distillers dried grains with solubles and dehydrated alfalfa meal on the utilization of urea nitrogen in beef cattle.

I M P R O V I N G the utilization of urea nitrogen by ruminants has been the goal of many investigations. One approach, as exemplified by the study of Karr et al. (1965), has involved the addition of certain feedstuffs, which are thought to be sources of "rumen stimulatory" factors, to the diet with the hope of increasing microbial protein synthesis. Two examples of such feedstuffs are corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and dehydrated alfalfa meal (DEHY). Much work has been conducted with the objective of identifying and/or obtaining information relative to some of the physical and chemical properties of the "rumen stimulatory" factor or factors in DDGS (Little et al., 1964; Potter et al., 1966; Little et al., 1967) and D E H Y (Burroughs et al., 1950). The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of adding DDGS or DEHY to high-urea diets on the utilization of urea nitrogen by beef cattle.