High Molasses Research Articles

Technological qualities of defoliated and topped sugar beet

It is well known that beet with crown tissue have a higher content of melassigenic nonsugar substances than correctly-topped beet. However, there is a lack of information on the impact of this change on processing. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of defoliated beet on the different processing steps. Laboratory-scale processing experiments were conducted with defoliated and manually-topped beet from five sites in 2010/11 to 2012/13. Beet brei, raw press juice and thin juice have been analyzed, the subsequent effects have been simulated with a specially developed model. The results show that the beet composition changes increasingly when including a larger proportion of the crown tissue. Consequently, cutting off the first millimeters of the top of the crown will remove the worst part of the beet. Defoliated beet have a poorer technological quality compared to topped beet with a significantly higher content of melassigenic compounds, in particular -aminoN and invert sugar, and a lower pol. sugar content, thus resulting in a lower purity. This effect is similar for all products, beet brei, raw press juice, and thin juice. In thin juice, the effective alkalinity is significantly reduced, while colour and lime salts’ content are increased. Because of the lower quality/purity of defoliated beet more beet will have to be processed to produce the same quantity of white sugar, so the processing campaign will become longer. In the simulation model a lower thick juice purity and a higher molasses purity have been assumed for defoliated beet, as based on juice analysis and technological expectations. The higher content of nonsugars will result in an increased mass flow through the sugar house which will negatively affect the molasses exhaustion. At the same white sugar production, the simulation model calculates higher costs for processing aids and energy, but on the other hand also higher revenues for the additional production of pellets and molasses when processing defoliated beet.

High molasses diets for feedlot cattle

This experiment investigated the effect of high molasses diets on feed intake, growth rate, carcass traits and meat eating quality of Bos indicus cross cattle under commercial feedlot conditions. Heifers were allocated to 1 of 3 groups and fed feedlot diets containing 1, 29% or 50% molasses on a DM basis. Average daily DM intake for the first 64 days was 23-24 g/kg liveweight for each of the treatment groups. The inclusion of molasses in the diet reduced (P<0.05) average daily gains (ADG) (control, mid and high molasses groups; 2.1 ± 0.04, 1.7 ± 0.05 and 1.3 ± 0.06 kg/d, respectively). The P8 fat depth was lower (P<0.05) for animals fed the high molasses diet (4.2 ± 0.5 mm) than the control and mid molasses groups (6.9 ± 0.5 and 5.8 ± 0.5 mm, respectively). Objective and subjective measures of meat quality were found to be similar between cattle fed a conventional grain-based diet and medium and high molasses diets. The inclusion of molasses at 29 or 50% (DM basis) in feedlot diets could result in acceptable ADG and produce leaner beef without affecting meat quality.

The effects of effective rumen degraded dietary protein and digestible undegraded protein on rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in wether sheep given high levels of molasses

The feeding of molasses influences the rumen fermentation by changing the balance of microbes in the rumen and their metabolism. One of the consequences is a decrease in efficiency of utilisation of dietary protein when high molasses levels are fed. The dietary protein requirements of ruminants may therefore be higher for diets containing high molasses levels. A previous experiment with dairy cows has shown positive responses in feed intake and milk production to increases in both effective rumen degraded dietary protein (ERDP) and digestible undegraded protein (DUP) in diets containing 310 g/kg DM of molaferm 20 (a mixture of 800 g cane molasses with 200 g condensed molasses solubles per kg, supplied by United Molasses) (Yan and Roberts, 1993). The current experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effects of dietary ERDP and DUP levels on rumen fermentation, hay DM degradability and microbial growth in the rumen of wether sheep.

The response of dairy cows given high levels of molasses to dietary levels of fermentable metabolisable energy

Unprotected tallow is used as a feed ingredient to meet the energy requirement of high milking dairy cows, but its hydrolysed free fatty acids in the rumen can inhibit microbial activity and dietary fibre digestion. However, the negative effects of the tallow could be minimized when high levels of molasses are also fed since feeding molasses could shorten the retention time of the hydrolysed free fatty acids in the rumen. In addition, molasses contains a large proportion of non-structural carbohydrates (sugars) which have fast fermentation rates in the rumen. When a diet is formulated to have a low fermentable metabolisable energy (FME) concentration, supplementing with a high molasses level may partially make up the deficiency of the energy requirement of the microorganisms in the rumen of dairy cows. Previous experiments have showed that molasses could be fed to dairy cows up to 312 g/kg DM without adverse effect (Yan and Roberts, 1992) and a crude protein level at 160 g/kg DM in the diet containing 310 g/kg DM of molasses was satisfactory for feed intake and milk production of dairy cows (Yan and Roberts, 1993). The current experiment was subsequently undertaken to investigate the response of dairy cows given high levels of molasses to dietary levels of FME produced by altering unprotected tallow concentrations in diets.

The responses of lactating dairy cows to feeding of high molasses levels

Molasses has been fed to dairy cows for about a century. Extensive studies have shown that its energy value is worth from 75 to 100% that of maize when up to 10% of molasses is fed in a complete diet and high molasses inclusion in the diet can be detrimental to the responses of the animals. Nevertheless, the maximum inclusion rate of molasses in a diet that cows can tolerate has still been unclear. Few publications are available to describle the responses of cows to very high molasses feeding. This is a question, however, that both farmers and advisers are concious of. The present experiment was designed to evaluate the effects on milk yield and composition, feed intake, liveweight gain and health of lactating cows fed on very high levels of molasses, in comparision with those fed a relatively low level.Fifteen British Friesian late lactation cows (168 ± 6 days calved) all in second lactation or more were randomly allocated to a 3 x 3 changeover experiment with 21 day periods. The cattle were fed individually through Broadbent Calan Gates ad libitum on a complete diet of silage plus a liquid supplement including molaferm 20 (a mixture of 80% cane molasses with 20% condensed molasses solubles supplied by United Molasses Ltd.), soyabean meal and fish meal.

Effects of sulfur and different sources and levels of nitrogen and energy on the intake and liveweight change of steers fed tropical native pasture hay

Weaner steers were fed low quality native pasture hay in pens for 84 days to determine the differences in response to supplements of molasses (280 g/steer.day) and grain sorghum (265 g/steer.day), fed with urea (45 g/steer.day), and to determine the role of sulfur in these differences. The control group consumed 1.63 kg/steer.day organic matter (OM) and lost 277 g/steer.day over the feeding period. Supplements of urea alone or urea + grain did not affect hay intake or liveweight performance but both parameters were markedly improved by supplements of urea + molasses and urea + sodium sulfate. It was concluded that sulfur, in addition to urea, was necessary to increase feed intake and reduce liveweight loss in steers fed the low-protein pasture hay. With an increase in molasses intake from 280 to 1120 g/ steer.day, total OM intake remained constant while roughage OM intake declined (P&gt; 0.05). At the higher molasses intake both roughage and total OM intakes were greater when 37 g/steer.day of supplemental nitroin-was fed (P&gt;0.05), suggesting that energy substitution could be countered by ensuring a non-limiting nitrogen supply. Urea, meat and bone meal or the combination of the 2 were equally effective as the nitrogen source. In a second experiment weaner steers were fed a similar hay in pens for 56 days to compare the effects of either urea or protein meal as the nitrogen source in molasses. Molasses was fed at 1120 g/steer.day. The protein meal was a formaldehyde-treated mix of cottonseed meal, meat and bone meal and fish meal (8:1:1). Unsupplemented animals consumed 2.86 kg/ steer.day OM and lost 210 g/steer.day liveweight. Total OM intake was increased similarly by both nitrogen sources (P&lt;0.05) but, whereas steers fed urea-molasses maintained weight, those given urea molasses plus the formaldehyde-treated protein meal gained weight at 163 g/steer.day (P&lt;0.05). The advantage of providing a protein source protected from rumen degradation was demonstrated.