With the exception of urea and pelleted feed, molasses is the most misunderstood ingredient in the feed industry. The common perception is that molasses is mostly water and should only be used when unpalatable, junk ingredients are the main constituents of the feed.

In reality, molasses has distinctive characteristics. When you consider these things, you will see that molasses is a valuable feed ingredient.

Molasses is sticky, but it does flow. Therefore, by most of our definitions of a liquid, we would call molasses a liquid. This makes us think molasses is mostly water. Molasses is only 20 to 25 percent moisture. This always amazes me because fresh grass is 80 percent water. Corn silage is 70 percent water. I can hold both of them in my hand. But molasses is only 20 percent water, and it flows. Because molasses is low in moisture, molasses is not nearly as expensive per unit of dry matter as it is perceived to be.

Molasses provides palatability to rations. Although most can envision this, it is only true to a point. Cattle, when given full access to molasses, will consume four to eight pounds per head per day. This is different than if candy were offered full feed.

At one dairy, a producer milking 150 cows received a load of candy and offered it free choice to his cows. The cows ate more than 25 pounds and probably would have eaten more if there had been more bunk space. There was bunk space for just six cows.

None of the cows died, but they all suffered from diarrhea and dehydration. If given a choice, cows would select candy or a grain ration over straight molasses.

Molasses should have 50 to 60 percent digestible sugars. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals. Because molasses is a sugar, it is a good ingredient to add with high-corn diets. It gives a more uniform fermentation in the rumen.

There are several kinds of molasses on the market. The most common is cane molasses. Beet molasses is also available but is not as palatable. Wood molasses (Masonex), which is a by-product of the paper industry, is available and generally used as a pellet binder. It is much lower in energy and is not nearly as palatable.

There are several substitutions for molasses, but none is very good. Corn steep liquids and distillers solubles are sometimes used in molasses blends.

Another is liquid whey, a by-product of the cheese industry. Even though distillers solubles are higher in protein than molasses and liquid whey, they have some unidentified growth factors when fed to animals. Both are much higher in moisture and do not have the desired sticky sugar characteristic of good Ol' Black Strap.

The bottom line is Black Strap is the best. Blends of substitutes with Black Strap are inferior also. Molasses can do a lot of good when fed to dairy cows, horses and feedlot cattle. When given the choice of having your MFA feed with or without molasses, choose molasses unless there are physical handling problems with a sticky feed.