A by-product of ethanol production in the United States is feeding water buffalo in Egypt.
In fact, corn growers on a recent U.S. Grains Council mission found that DDGS (dried distiller’s grains with solubles) have become quite popular as livestock rations in that part of the world. “We found several farms that have incorporated distillers grains into their rations and are making good use of them,” said Missouri corn grower and mission participant Jim Stuever.
USGC director for Egypt Dr. Hussein Soliman says they introduced DDGS to producers in 2006. “We introduced 6,000 metric tons in 2006 to start, now we’ve reached 80,000 metric tons, and in two years that will be 200,000 metric tons,” he said.
The corn grower mission met with Dr. Saad Alhayani, who owns and operates a very new open water buffalo feedlot and dairy near Cairo and is also chairman of the Egyptian Buffalo Producer’s Association. “We started two years ago putting five percent and now sometimes we put 25 percent (DDGS) in our diet and it brings very good results,” Alhayani said.
Watch a video clip of Dr. Alhayani’s water buffalo operation here: