Feeding two pounds of corn gluten feed (dry matter basis or as-fed basis) is certainly not too much. Recommendations and summary of research and knowledge on use of corn gluten feed are at the following Web site http://beef.unl.edu/byprodfeeds/manual_02_00.shtml (PDF). Our experience has been that you can feed up to 40 percent of the total diet as corn gluten feed, but probably even more. Dry corn gluten feed does not feed quite as well as wet product, but it may be a great fit in your setting. Compare the price of dry gluten feed to corn price to know whether this is a good deal or not. I would assign an energy value of 80 to 85 percent of corn energy value to compare prices. If you can purchase it for less than that relative to dry corn price (compare dry price to dry price), then it is a good deal for you. You are correct on the protein needs, but it really depends on what you are feeding, the daily gain, and intakes of the cattle, and the relative amounts of degradable intake protein (DIP or ruminally used protein by microbes), and the amount of bypass protein (UIP; undegradable intake protein) to know whether you are meeting the protein needs of these calves. Evaluate this in the NRC model to know for sure. This also depends on whether you're using grass or alfalfa hay and quality of that hay.

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