One hundred twenty crossbred steers (294 kg, initially) were used in a 141-d finishing trial. Four concentrations (8, 16, 24, and 32% of diet DM) of cottonseed meal (CSM, prepressed solvent-extracted) replaced steam-flaked corn in a corn-based finishing diet. Increasing level of CSM decreased ADG (linear component, P < .10), feed efficiency (linear component, P < .01), and dietary NE (linear co...

Two experiments were conducted at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Research Center to determine the effects of feeding ground flaxseed (flax) during the receiving period on the growth, health, and subsequent finishing performance of heifers. Crossbred heifers (Exp. 1: n = 363, 214 +/- 1 kg of initial BW; Exp. 2: n = 377, 222 +/- 1 kg of initial BW) were purchased during January and April...

Four Holstein steers with ruminal and duodenal cannulas were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design to examine the effect of daily intake of 0, 2, 4 or 6 g/steer of standardized plant extract containing a mixture of quaternary benzophenanthridine alkaloids and protopine alkaloids (QBA+PA) on the characteristics of ruminal fermentation and characteristics of digestion. The basal diet consisted of a...

In performance, digestibility and slaughter trials, a total of forty five male weaned lambs were used to examine the effects of monensin and live yeast supplementations on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics and ruminal fermentation parameters when the lambs were fed steam-flaked corn-based diets. Animals were allotted to one of three treatment diets in a complet...

Grain sorghum grown in 38-cm rows (high density [HD]) or 76-cm rows (normal density [ND]) was treated as follows: steam-flaked (SF), high-moisture-harvested followed by rolling and ensiling (HM), or dry-rolled (DR). Resulting grains were evaluated using lambs in two 5 x 5 Latin square digestion trials. Treatment diets contained either SF-HD, SF-ND, HM-HD, HM-ND, or DR-ND grain sorghum in two tr...

Two trials were conducted to evaluate the influence of malic acid supplementation on ruminal fermentation. In Trial 1, six Holstein steers (300 kg) with ruminal cannulas were used in a crossover design experiment to study the influence of malic acid (MA) on ruminal metabolism during glucose-induced lactic acidosis. Treatments consisted of a 77% steam-flaked barley-based finishing diet supplemen...

Six experiments were conducted to evaluate methods for measuring NDF in corn and distillers grains plus solubles. Methods included using sodium sulfite, α-amylase (AMY), amyloglucosidase, heat and steam with an autoclave, grinding methods, and a pre–fat extraction to decrease factors that interfere with measuring NDF accurately. Using sodium sulfite and AMY resulted in decreased (P < 0.01) corn...

Six hundred ten crossbred-yearling heifers (347 +/- 5 kg of initial BW) were obtained and used in a randomized complete-block design finishing study. Finishing diets were based on steam-flaked corn and ground alfalfa hay. The control (CONT) treatment contained no distillers grains with solubles (DGS), the second diet was formulated to contained 13% (DM basis) dried corn DGS derived from a tradi...

OBJECTIVE This trial was performed to examine the effects of ruminally degradable starch (RDS) levels in total mixed ration (TMR) with low corn-based starch on the milk production, whole-tract nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance in dairy cows. METHODS Eight multiparous Holstein cows (body weight [BW]: 717±63 kg; days in milk [DIM]: 169±29) were assigned to a crossover design with two ...