Brewers' spent grain has long been used as a protein supplement in dairy production, with farmers confident the product increases milk yield and gives cows a glossy coat so it makes sense that a breeder would take advantage of it too.
Feedlotters growing beef are less keen for the protein rich supplement while grass fed producers tend to look elsewhere for additives.
Greg Hunter, Federal, is an exception - feeding about a 12kg per head every week to his breeding Brahman cross cows and sourcing the spent grains direct from a Brewery at Byron Bay.
"My cows love it," he says. "They come running when I put it out in the paddock."
According to industry experts, a nutritionist should be used to guide its application as it is lacking in some areas.
The increase in craft beer production now means brewers' spent grains (BSG) is available across regional NSW once again. In decades past regional breweries in places like Lismore and Grafton disposed of their greatest by-product by offering it to livestock producers. Of course, craft brew houses don't produce anything like the big players.
One of the largest craft beer brewer is Four Pines, which produces about 20t/week BSG compared to upwards of 1000t/week from the likes of Tooheys.
Feedlotters on the Darling Downs have ready access to BSG but don't chase the protein content of the product like dairy farmers in Sydney's west where BSG has been a staple of their rations for years.
On paper, the product - what's left in the brewers' mash kettle after lautering - is mostly water by weight, giving just 22 per cent dry matter which on current costs of $55-$65/t equates to about $272/t on a dry matter basis compared to wheat at $300.
However the product is high in protein, about 24pc, and high in Neutral Detergent Fibre at 55pc but needs additional carbohydrate, usually in the form of wheat, as recommended by a nutritionist.
"Dairy farmers I speak to say they get more milk by incorporating BSG into their feed rations," notes East Coast Stockfeeds director Stuart Dolden.
"Being wet makes the BSG pallatable and it blends nicely with other feed in the mixer wagon. It's more palatable and intake is increased."
Consulting feed nutritionist Paul Gooley, Gooley Ag at Toowoomba, says the high moisture content - more than 78pc water - translates into high transport costs over long distance. Storage, too, can be problematic and it tends to be best used soon after delivery.
"Each and every farmer's circumstance needs to be considered," Mr Gooley said. "Any one who is thinking of using brewers grain, it is not cheap, so engaging a nutritionist will be the best investment they can make.
"As to its benefits as a supplement in a pasture system, then my answer to that is there are plenty of other options rather than brewers grain that are better suited given the nature of the product."
