THE NEED to extract maximum use from feedgrains will see a concerted push into more capital-intensive, but ultimately more effective, grain processing systems in the Australian feedlot industry. This was one of the strong themes to emerge from the BeefWorks feed-lot industry technical workshop held in Toowoomba last month. Unlike the United States, where the industry is almost totally reliant on steamflaking systems that allow cattle to more effectively use starches in grain-based rations, there is afar higher proportion of lots in Australia still using less sophisticated grain processing systems, delegates heard. These range from simple dry-rolling to tempering and reconstitu-tion. Visiting US grain processing expert Wes Wood, principal of R&R Engineering in Dalhart, Texas, said that having looked through a sample of steamflaking systems in this country, he saw a lot of potential to upgrade to newer style, more efficient equipment, and to install flakers in sites that at present used less effective grain conditioning equipment.
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