Gluten feed is a good source of energy, protein, and phosphorus for beef cows. In most beef cow diets, the first limiting nutrient is protein. If you feed gluten, you will not need to supplement phosphorus in the mineral program.
We have not had much of a response (increased weight gain and body condition score gain) to protein supplementation for mature cows grazing corn stalk residue. However, supplementing protein the last 90 days of gestation seems to impact the fetus in a positive way (look online at the most recent Nebraska Beef Report). With that in mind, supplementing cows the last 90 days with some protein may be a management strategy to consider. If the wet gluten is 45% dry matter, feeding 4 pounds per head per day (lb/hd/day) would get about 0.32 lb of protein to the cows.
The key to knowing the amount of gluten to feed is knowing the quality of the forage, as it is likely the main component of the diet. If the forage is low quality, you could feed up to one-third of the diet on a dry matter basis of wet gluten feed. As an example, if the cow weighs 1,200 pounds and is eating 27 lb/day dry matter, then one-third of the diet would be nine pounds. Again, if the wet gluten is 45% dry matter, you could feed 20 lb/hd/day of gluten (9 lb/0.45).
So the range could be 0 to 20 lb/hd/day if the wet gluten was 45% dry matter and 55% water. The amount of gluten depends on the quality of the forage and whether you need to supply protein, energy, or both to the diet. You also need to know the moisture content of the wet gluten.
When feeding these products, make sure all animals have access to eat their share.
