Beef

Growth and Carcass Characteristics of Feed Efficiency Sorted Cattle Fed Corn or Roughage-Based Diets and Finished with Corn or Byproduct-Based Diets

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Abstract

The current study is part of a five year multidisciplinary grant that aims to identify dietary, genotypic and metabolic factors affecting feed efficiency while also analyzing the effects of feed efficiency differences on feedlot performance and carcass characteristics. The current report serves as a progress update summarizing the first 439 of 1500 total steers that will be fed throughout the duration of the study. Based on the first three groups of steers that have been evaluated, growing phase feed efficiency rank has shown minimal effects on finishing phase growth and carcass traits. Thus far, byproduct-finished cattle have increased hot carcass weight, backfat and yield grade, suggesting distillers grains have a greater energy value than dry rolled corn.

Keywords: Animal Science

How to Cite:

Russell, J. R., Lundy, E. L. & Hansen, S. L., (2014) “Growth and Carcass Characteristics of Feed Efficiency Sorted Cattle Fed Corn or Roughage-Based Diets and Finished with Corn or Byproduct-Based Diets”, Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 11(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ans_air-180814-1150