The humble egg – rich in protein, light on calories and great fried on top of a hamburger (trust us on that one) – has had a big impact on how high-protein animal feed derived from the distilling of ethanol gets produced.

“We work to have the premium distillers grains in the U.S., that being Dakota Gold^®,” says Mark Giesemann, Technical Services Director for POET Nutrition. “Producers try to reach an end-point for nutrient composition of the diet and Dakota Gold would be one of the tools they have available to use as an ingredient, along with corn and soybean meal, vitamins, minerals and other ingredients to get to a point of complete feed.”

That’s fine for hog and cattle operations. But it’s a different story for chickens that lay eggs for our breakfast table.

Regulating Antibiotics

“The [U.S. Federal Drug Administration] writes a letter, oh, four, five years ago that says that there can’t be any antibiotic residue in the feed for hens, and if so you’ve adulterated the product and they were very clear in that letter that there couldn’t be any residue,” says Chad Gregory, Senior Vice President of the United Egg Producers, a cooperative of egg farmers from all across the United States that represents the ownership of some 95 percent of the nation’s egg-laying hens. “The farmers, the producers, go back to their suppliers and they say, ‘Yeah, it’s probably destroyed, most likely there’s no residue.’ Then we say, ‘Can you give us a certificate saying that?’ And the companies say, ‘Well, no we can’t.’”

Egg producers want distillers grains, because it lowers feed costs and it is a good, nutritious product. Furthermore, feeding chickens the grains also has been found to lower ammonia levels in the chicken houses, Gregory says. Ammonia, which is a byproduct of urea found in poultry waste, is a regulated substance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The United Egg Producers secured a $1.6 million grant, partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to show that distillers grains have a direct impact on lowering ammonia levels in the houses.

“The idea was we would spend two years testing,” Gregory says. “First, we have to find a farm. Then, we have to find a company to supply us. So, I pick up the phone – well I did a Google search first – found a contact number and then I’m on the phone with POET, where they gave me the 101 and the 201 on distillers grains and low and behold a month later, they decide to switch an entire plant in northwest Iowa to be antibiotic-free, just for this project.”

The United Egg Producers were able to show that feeding their hens antibiotic-free Dakota Gold distillers grains lowered ammonia emissions in the test hen houses by 30 percent.

“Not only was it good on our end, but I’m incredibly thankful to POET for stepping up and switching this plant over,” Gregory says. “I think I’m more excited now that POET is saying that this is an issue for animal ag so let’s be responsible and switch as many as our plants as we can to antibiotic-free.”

Antibiotics and the ethanol process

But why the need for antibiotics to be present in the corn ethanol distilling process to begin with?

Add heat and moisture to something and it creates a fertile environment for bacteria and mold to blossom. In the ethanol process bacteria can rob the fermenting process of ethanol-gallons-per-bushel results.

And it’s not like the industry is dumping mass quantities of antibiotic in the mix. Officials with the U.S. Federal Drug Administration allow producers to use one antibiotic, virginiamycin, marketed under the name Lactrol, in the process. It’s highly regulated, since the end solids, distillers grains, end up being fed to livestock.

POET’s Process

POET’s process to produce ethanol is different than most. Using their patented BPX^® process, the distillers grains produced show an improved nutritional value.

“We don’t cook our corn before we ferment it,” Giesemann says. “It helps our distillers grains be more nutrient-available.”

Still, there’s heat and moisture in POET’s fermentation process. Hence the need for some Lactrol in the mix, Giesemann says. “The fermentation environment is also ideal for bacterial growth. So, at times, it is necessary for us, during the ethanol process and during fermentation, to use an antibiotic – virginiamycin, to inhibit bacterial growth.”

When you use antibiotics in fermentation there’s always the small chance, very, very minor, or at least perception, Giesemann says, that there is still some virginiamycin residue that could make it into the feed.

“And that presents a problem for certain sectors of our industry, particularly the ones that cannot feed any virginiamycin in the feed to their animals,” he says. “The egg-layers, they’ve been the most affected by the potential presence of virginiamycin in Dakota Gold.”

But not anymore.

Antibiotic-Free

Company researchers began a pilot program and switched POET Biorefining  – Ashton, Iowa to produce distillers grains without utilizing antibiotics in the fermentation process. The plant, the 18th built by POET, produces some 56 million gallons of ethanol a year.

“During that point in time, we developed the technology to regularly and reliably produce ethanol without the use of antibiotics in the fermentation process,” Giesemann says. “We’re being pro-active in the production of ethanol without the use of added antibiotics.”

Now, six POET plants are producing antibiotic-free Dakota Gold distillers grains, with the rest of the company’s plants capable of switching to the process.

“We have the six locations now, across the Corn Belt in order to supply product where the demand is,” says Matt Reiners, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Director for POET Nutrition. “It’s an undiscovered market for us, since there are a lot of birds in those laying houses that can benefit from our product. It’s definitely a big market opportunity for us. It’s certainly a learning curve for both POET and the egg producers.”

“But more important than the new market, the egg producers have been a great partner in all of this,” he adds.

And the United Egg Producers couldn’t be happier that POET took on such a project, Gregory says.

“I’m thrilled by it, the whole process, the fact that POET stepped up to help us,” Gregory says. “We wanted to be proactive before the EPA regulated us right out of business. We just couldn’t wait for that to happen. So, I’m incredibly loyal to POET now and would encourage egg farmers to strongly consider using distiller grains in their layer diets.”