Effects of replacing corn silage with alfalfa haylage in growing beef cattle diets on performance during the growing and finishing period.

Corn silage is the predominant mechanically harvested forage source for feedlot cattle production in the United States because of high yield. Alternatively, because of multiple cuttings per year and lower annual cost, the use of alfalfa or other forages, may increase opportunities for manure spreading, perennial soil cover, pollinator habitat, and greater carbon sequestration. The objective of this trial was to determine the feeding value of alfalfa haylage when replacing corn silage in growing cattle diets.

Effect of inclusion of distillers grains with solubles and crude glycerin in beef cattle finishing diets on ruminal fermentation and fatty acid biohydrogenation.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of feeding bio-fuel co-products on ruminal fermentation characteristics and composition of omasal digesta flow. Four ruminally cannulated Holstein steers (371 ± 5 kg) were used in a 4 × 4 Latin Square design. Omasal sample collection and triple marker technique was used to quantify fatty acid omasal flow.

Pooled analysis on the effects of inclusion, moisture, and oil removal from distillers grains on cattle performance and economic returns in diets with different corn processing.

A synthesis of data including over 9,300 head of cattle and over 980 pen means was conducted to evaluate the effect of corn processing method, distillers grains type, oil removal from distillers, and dietary distillers concentration on cattle performance and total feeding costs under different historical price scenarios. The corn processing method was either steam-flaked corn, high-moisture or dry-rolled corn or a blend of the latter two and their effects on performance with and without distillers grains. Wet, modified, and dry distillers were analyzed as either full fat or de-oiled products in diets at various dietary concentrations with either corn type to determine cattle performance.

Effect of substitution of distillers grains and glycerin for steam-flaked corn in finishing cattle diets on growth performance and carcass characteristics.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of substituting modified corn distillers grains with solubles (DGS) or crude soy glycerin (CG) for steam-flaked corn (SFC) in finishing diets on growth performance and carcass characteristics. Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial with DGS (0% or 40%) and CG (0% or 10%) replacing dietary SFC in a basal diet. Growth performance and carcass traits were measured on 48 individually fed crossbred yearling cattle (21 steers and 27 heifers; 380 ± 37 kg).