Diet supplementation can maximize pasture efficiency while boosting weather resilience and overall performance for beef cattle
New research in Applied Animal Science shows that both adding distillers grains and nitrogen fertilization can help producers increase their pasture capacity, with grains also increasing production gains
Champaign, IL, April 6, 2026—As the amount of pasture land available for agriculture decreases and costs increase, beef producers are increasingly interested in management strategies that can grow their efficiency and bottom lines, while not negatively impacting animal performance. In a new long-term study from Applied Animal Science, a research team used 17 years of cattle performance data to illustrate that cattle producers can use dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) and fertilization to lower their land needs, with the distillers grains offering higher gains and climate resilience for their herds.
Galen E. Erickson, PhD, PAS, of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA, explained, “We know from US Department of Agriculture data that pasture space has been steadily declining while production expenses, such as fertilizer, have increased during the past two decades, and that moving forward, producers will need to factor in energy costs, forage production, and their environmental footprint into how they manage their operations.”
Because the team knew from previous literature that supplementing DDGS can improve cattle weight while reducing the overall amount of forage each animal eats, they set out to understand how two strategies—diet supplementation and pasture fertilization—affect animal performance and land needs.
The study involved experiments from 2005 to 2021 with three possible treatments for the steers enrolled: those supplemented with DDGS and grazing on nonfertilized pasture, those grazing nitrogen-fertilized pasture only, and a control group of steers grazing 30% more unfertilized pasture without DDGS added to their diets.
“Across all years, we found that the steers with DDGS in their diets saw a 41% improvement in their average daily weight gains, and had higher ending body weight overall, compared with those grazing fertilized pasture and the control group,” explained Erickson. Furthermore, when the team reviewed the body weight gain per hectare of pasture, they found that the supplemented cattle had the highest gains, followed by the fertilized pasture group, and then the control group, demonstrating that both DDGS diet supplementation and pasture fertilization can increase the efficiency of pasture use, with DDGS coming out the winner overall.
“Interestingly, the cattle fed DDGS were also more resilient to changes in rainfall and temperature over the course of the study—meaning it’s a supplement strategy that can stretch your pasture returns and risk management for increasing extreme weather, which we know can have negative impacts on cattle performance,” said Erickson.
Caption: A new study published in Applied Animal Science examines the long-term effects of distillers grain supplementation and nitrogen fertilization on animal performance, offering beef producers actionable ways to boost their pasture efficiency and climate resilience (Credit: Galen Erickson).
Bill Weiss, PhD, PAS, Dipl. ACAS, editor in chief of Applied Animal Science, explained, “Pasture availability is often a major limiting factor for beef producers. This study used 17 years of data to evaluate how supplementation with distillers grains or nitrogen fertilization of bromegrass pastures affected carrying capacity and growth measures of beef steer calves. The results of this study should help producers make wise economic choices when additional carrying capacity is needed.”
The article appears in the April issue of Applied Animal Science.
Notes for editors
“Effects of nitrogen fertilization and dried distillers grains plus solubles supplementation on long-term performance of growing beef steers grazing smooth bromegrass,” by Morgan Hodges, Rebecca L. McDermott, Andrea K. Watson, Holly A. Heil, Kathy Hanford, Jim C. MacDonald, and Galen E. Erickson (https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2025-02720), Applied Animal Science, volume 42, issue 2 (April 2026), published by FASS and Elsevier.
This article is openly available at https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2025-02720.
To schedule an interview with the author(s), please contact Galen E. Erickson at gerickson4@unl.edu.
About Applied Animal Science
Applied Animal Science (AAS) is a gold open access, peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official publication of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS). In continuous publication since 1985, AAS is a leading outlet for animal science research and is indexed by Scopus and ESCI (Clarivate’s Emerging Sources Citation Index). The journal welcomes novel manuscripts on applied technology, reviews on the use or application of research-based information on animal agriculture, commentaries on contemporary issues, short communications, and technical notes. Topics that will be considered for publication include (but are not limited to) feed science, farm animal management and production, dairy science, meat science, animal nutrition, reproduction, animal physiology and behavior, disease control and prevention, microbiology, agricultural economics, and environmental issues related to agriculture. Themed special issues also will be considered for publication. www.appliedanimalscience.org
About the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS)
The American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) is the organization that provides certification of animal scientists through examination, continuing education, and commitment to a code of ethics. Continual improvement of individual members is catalyzed through publications (including the AAS journal) and by providing information on educational opportunities. ARPAS is affiliated with five professional societies: American Dairy Science Association, American Meat Science Association, American Society of Animal Science, Equine Science Society, and Poultry Science Association. www.arpas.org
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