Feed Intake and Growth of Cattle Fed Liquid Brewer’s Yeast

Liquid brewer’s yeast containing 10–14% dry matter and 40–50% crude protein (DM basis) was fed as the protein supplement to six pens of four Holstein-Friesian heifer calves by three methods in a double latin square design. Treatments were additions of liquid brewer’s yeast to a corn silage-based ration: A, separate free choice feeding; B, top-dressed on basal ration; or C, mixed with basal ration. Periods were 21 days in duration. Dry matter intake was satisfactory on all treatments but was greater when yeast was fed free choice (A) or mixed (C) than top-dressed (B). Free choice yeast feeding resulted in high intakes of the product and compensatory reduction of basal ration intake. Dry matter and protein content of yeast varied somewhat between shipments from the brewery. In a second trial, four pens of four Hereford steer calves each were fed corn silage and high moisture corn alone or supplemented with liquid brewer’s yeast or soybean meal for a 98-day period. Supplemented diets were consumed in higher amounts and resulted in more rapid gains than in controls. There was no difference between yeast- and soybean-supplemented rations.