Forage-fed cattle point the way forward for beef?

Beef-cattle production functions in forage utilization

FSA3131 Guidelines for Choosing Self-Fed Supplements for Beef Cattle

Shane Gadberry, Ph.D. Associate Professor ­ Animal Science Feeding supplemental protein or energy to beef cattle consuming a forage­based diet should be viewed as an investment in cattle health and performance. Considering the large selection of supplemental feeds avail­ able, selecting the right feed is a daunting task. As an investment, supplemental feed is necessary to complement the forag...

Can Nutrient Synchrony Affect Performance of Forage-Fed Cattle?

Synchrony is defined as to represent or arrange to indicate coexistence or parallel occurrence. Thus nutrient synchrony would imply a parallel occurrence of nutrients for the ruminant animal to consume or be present in the diet and rumen. Thus by supplying energy and nitrogen sources concurrently, an increase or optimization of microbial efficiency should occur. The increase in microbial effici...

Performance and economic analyses of year-round forage systems for forage-fed beef production in the Gulf Coast.

On a global scale, most beef is produced from grazing pastures or rangelands. Certain limitations exist, however, such as not having adequate animal rates of gain for marbling and availability of adequate forage nutritional value and quantity for constant animal weight gains. In the last 20 yr, there has been an increased interest in forage-fed beef for multiple reasons (health related, environ...

Feeding value of field pea as a protein source in forage-based diets fed to beef cattle.

Three studies were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of field peas as a protein source in diets for beef cattle. In the first study, 4 cultivars of field pea were incubated in situ to determine rate and extent of CP disappearance. Results indicate that field pea cultivars vary in CP content (22.6, 26.1, 22.6, and 19.4%, DM basis for Profi, Arvika, Carneval, and Trapper, respectively). Solub...