Effects of Sorting Steers by Body Weight into Calf-Fed, Summer Yearling, and Fall Yearling Feeding Systems1

Effects of Sorting Steers by Body Weight into Calf-Fed, Summer Yearling, and Fall Yearling Feeding Systems

Two years of data (288 steers/yr) were used to determine if sorting cattle by BW into different production systems would decrease overweight carcasses (>431 kg) and hot carcass weight (HCW) variation. At receiving, steers were assigned randomly into sorted or unsorted groups (n = 144 steers/group). Within a group, steers were assigned to 1 of 3 feeding times: 1) calf-fed (entering the feedlot a...

Performance and Economics of Sorting Yearling Steers by Feedlot Initial Body Weight

Adiposity of calf- and yearling-fed Brangus steers raised to constant-age and constant-body weight endpoints.

We tested the hypothesis that fatty acid biosynthesis and adipocyte diameter and volume would be greater in s.c. and i.m. adipose tissues of calf-fed steers than in yearling-fed steers at a constant BW, due to the greater time on feed for the calf-fed steers. Conversely, we predicted that the capacity for s.c. and i.m. preadipocytes to divide, as estimated by 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA...

Live animal performance, carcass traits, and meat palatability of calf- and yearling-fed cloned steers.

Two groups of Brangus steers produced by nuclear transplantation cloning were used in parallel studies investigating the impact of calf- and yearling-feeding. The first group (n = 8) were fed as calves (CF; n = 4) or yearlings (YF; n = 4) to a constant age end point of 16 mo. The second group (n = 10) were fed as calves (CF; n = 5) or yearlings (YF; n = 5) to a constant live weight end point (5...

Effect of Sorting and Feeding Optaflexx on Performance and Economics of Long Yearling Steers

A two-year experiment evaluated the effects of sorting long yearling steers by initial feedlot BW and supplementing 200 mg/steer of Optaflexx daily the last 28 days of the feeding period on ADG, F/G, carcass characteristics and profitability. Feedlot ADG, F/G, and profitability were not effected by sorting. However, sorted cattle exhibited increased fat thickness, increased rib-eye area, and in...