Four finishing studies were conducted to optimize the use of ethanol and sugar beet byproducts in finishing diets containing dry rolled corn (DRC), steam flaked corn (SFC), or a combination of both. Data are limited for feeding combinations of corn processed by different methods (DRC and SFC) fed with wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS). Also, limited data are available for feeding different levels of beet pulp in corn based adaptation and finishing diets. Lastly, the relationship between dietary fiber and sulfur (rumen degradable; RDS and rumen undegradable) and their impact on feedlot health is not well understood. Therefore, our objectives were to 1) determine the effects of feeding different ratios of DRC and SFC in diets that contain 35% (DM) WDGS on finishing performance and carcass characteristics 2) evaluate the effects of feeding different levels of beet pulp in combination with DRC or SFC, 3) compare grain adaption programs using beet pulp to a traditional grain adaption program with alfalfa hay on finishing performance and carcass merit and 4) determine the relationship between dietary S (rumen degradable and rumen undegradable), neutral detergent fiber and polioencephalomalacia (PEM). A WDGS x corn processing ratio interaction (P = 0.03) was observed for G:F. Cattle fed diets containing no WDGS with SFC as the sole source of corn had 11% greater G:F (0.189, P \u3c 0.01) compared to steers fed all DRC diets with no WDGS (0.170). As SFC replaced DRC in diets containing no WDGS, G:F increased quadratically (P \u3c 0.01). A positive associative effect in G:F was observed as SFC replaced DRC in diets with 0% WDGS; however G:F was not impacted by corn processing in diets containing 35% WDGS. Final BW, DMI, and ADG decreased linearly (P \u3c 0.01) with increasing levels of beet pulp in both DRC and SFC diets, however, G:F was not different (P = 0.49) among levels of beet pulp in the finishing diet. Gain and G:F were not different (P \u3e 0.19) among different grain adaptation methods in a separate study where beet pulp was used to adapt steers to the finishing diet. An interaction between concentration of dietary sulfur and forage NDF (P = 0.07) affected the incidence of PEM cases. As level of RDS increased in the diet, the incidence of PEM increased. Unlike total dietary sulfur, there was no interaction between RDS and forage NDF ( P \u3e 0.10). These data indicate that RDS may be a better measure of PEM risk than dietary sulfur because it only includes the rumen degradable forms of sulfur which pose a greater risk of inducing PEM
