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The quality of pelleted feeds is dependent on several variables among which formulation is recognized as having the heaviest influence. An experiment was conducted to investigate the functional properties of feed ingredient components when these ingredients were blended at different proportions on the physical quality of pelleted feeds as measured by the pellet durability index (PDI). Thirteen treatments consisting of different inclusion levels of corn, soybean meal, and soybean oil were designed and a total of 18 batches manufactured, processed, and tested for PDI. Three-dimensional plots were used to depict the relationships between composition of the formulations and PDI. Results showed only a weak dependence of the response on the starch levels in the formulas and the degree of starch gelatinization. Protein, especially from soybean meal, had a positive effect on PDI, whereas a strong negative effect was observed following fat inclusion in the mixer at levels >6.5%. Empirical equations devise...

Wheat contaminated with teliospores of Tilletia controversa Kuhn (TCK) was mixed with uncontaminated wheat and processed through the Kansas State University pilot mill. Two 50-bu lots of the contaminated mixture were cleaned, tempered, and milled. Approximately 500 samples of wheat, cleanings, and mill fractions were collected and examined for the presence of intact and broken TCK teliospores. Whole wheat samples (50 g) were washed, sieved through a 60-μm nylon sieve, and pelleted by centrifugation. Contents of the pellet were examined microscopically for the presence of TCK spores. The procedure was modified as needed to accommodate cleanings and mill fractions. Levels of spore contamination in whole wheat samples decreased at each step during the handling process, and large numbers of spores were found in materials that were sieved or aspirated from the grain. Very few spores were found in bran, germ, and shorts; none were detected in red dog or straight-grade flour. The results showed that a h...

A technique was developed in this study for preparing solid poured feed blocks as supplements for ruminants. Blocks containing liquid condensed solubles and dried distillers grain with solubles as the base material and protein source were prepared with different cementing agents. A method for testing the hardness of blocks, an index of the physical durability, was also developed. The hardness of blocks was positively related to the concentration of magnesium oxide and to the length of storage time. Ferrous sulphate, on the other hand, had a synergistic effect with magnesium oxide which accelerated the setting of blocks after 24 h. A feeding trial revealed a negative relationship between daily intake by cattle and hardness of blocks. Blocks prepared with about 4% magnesium oxide and 3% ferrous sulphate provide a dry, weather-resistant supplement with a degree of hardness that allows an optimum rate of intake.