Evaluation of Renergy on Finishing Steer Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, and Liver Abscess Prevalence and Severity

Summary with Implications A feedlot study evaluated the effects of Renergy™ (Selko USA) and Rumensin® (Elanco Animal Health) on growth performance, carcass traits, and liver abscess severity in finishing beef cattle. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, cattle were fed one of four diets: control (no additive), Renergy, Rumensin, or both additives combined. A significant interaction between Renergy and Rumensin was observed for feed conversion, with a tendency for interaction in dry matter intake (DMI). Cattle fed Renergy tended to have lower DMI and lower average daily gain, though DMI did not differ between cattle fed both additives and those fed no additives. Rumensin had no effect on cattle performance. Neither additive influenced liver abscess incidence or severity. These results suggest that Renergy and Rumensin impacted feed efficiency and carcass traits without affecting liver health, with Renergy reducing intake and gain, and Rumensin having more notable effects on carcass composition

Evaluating Sorghum x Sudangrass Seed Digestibility

Summary with Implications A sorghum-sudangrass hybrid was swathed in the hard dough stage and grazed by growing steers from November 2023 to January 2024. Steers appeared to select the seedheads when grazing. The seed made up approximately 12.6% of swathed forage mass, but its energy contribution appears limited due to poor digestibility. When incubated whole, only 23% of dry matter and 13% of starch was digestible. Grinding improved digestibility but still left 40% of the dry matter and over 85% of starch unavailable. Weathering over two months did not improve digestibility, indicating the seed coat remains intact through winter. Compared to sorghum grain, the hybrid seed had significantly lower starch digestibility. Because cattle are unlikely to sufficiently chew the small seeds to break the tough seed coat, the actual energy benefit is minimal. Although seedheads are readily consumed, producers should not assume they contribute significant nutritional value in grazed systems

Summary of the Value of Distillers Grains Plus Solubles for Feedlot Cattle

Summary with Implications An analysis of over 6,100 head of finishing cattle across 50 experiments was conducted to determine the feeding value of full-fat and de-oiled distillers grains. This analysis was limited to studies where dry-rolled corn, high-moisture corn, or a combination of the two corn processing methods were displaced by 15% or more distillers grains. Dry distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS), modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS), and wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS) were evaluated as either full-fat or de-oiled. The feeding value of distillers grains was assessed relative to a corn-based control diet containing no distillers. Results indicate that removing fat from distillers grains reduces its feeding value by 8 percentage units, from 120.7% to 112.8%, across all distillers types. Additionally, feeding WDGS results in improved feed conversions compared to MDGS which is improved compared to DDGS

Live Biomass Estimation with Canopeo in Rangeland Systems

Summary with Implications This project evaluated Canopeo, a free smartphone app that estimates fractional green canopy cover (FGCC), as a tool for monitoring aboveground biomass in Nebraska Sandhills rangelands. Live biomass was significantly higher in August than in June with some variability by year. FGCC showed a moderately strong relationship with current-year live biomass collected in either June or August. These results indicate that, in addition to producers’ field knowledge, Canopeo images taken with a smartphone or digital camera can offer a quick, visual estimate of forage conditions. This method may help reduce the need for labor intensive and destructive biomass estimation while still supporting stocking rate adjustments and grazing decisions. However, appropriate models would first need to be developed in each grassland to ensure differences in plant communities are represented appropriately. Canopeo potentially offers a practical and accessible way to track seasonal changes in rangeland productivity

Effect of Feed Access Time on Feedlot Cattle Performance, Carcass Characteristics, Feeding Behavior and Ruminal pH

Summary with Implications Bunk management is crucial for modern feedlots, and understanding the ideal time to target a slick bunk is important. A feedlot study compared the effect of providing finishing cattle with 12, 15, 18, 21, or 24 hours of access to feed on performance, carcass characteristics, feeding behavior, and ruminal pH. As access time to feed increased, feed intake and day-to-day variation of feed intake increased linearly, while gain and feed conversion were unchanged. Cattle with greater access time to feed spent more time per day at the bunk, and consumed feed more slowly. A cubic effect on average ruminal pH was observed, with cattle that had 12 hours of feed access having the highest pH, and cattle that had 15 and 18 hours of feed access having the lowest pH. Reducing access time to feed maintained intake with no loss in gain if access was greater than 15 hours, but reduced feed access time did not improve feed conversion

Effect of Corn Harvest with a Chopping Head on Performance of Cattle Grazing Corn Residue

Summary with Implications The effects of harvesting corn using a chopping vs a standard, non-chopping combine head on steer performance when grazing corn residue were evaluated. Steers were supplemented with dry distillers grains at 0.6% of initial body weight. The amount of corn residue mass and the quality of the husk did not differ between harvest methods. Steer gains were over twice as high in year 2 (2.10 lb/d) than year 1 (0.76 lb/d), potentially due to greater husk digestibility and milder winter conditions. Corn residue harvested with a standard combine head resulted in a slightly higher average daily gain (1.48 vs. 1.36 lb/d) compared to residue harvested with a chopping corn head. This performance difference is likely due to reduced husk mass and finer leaf particle size in chopped residue, which may have limited intake. While differences were modest, the data suggest that chopped residue may decrease grazing value

Effects of Particle Size Difference in Two Different Sweet Bran Products on Total Tract Digestibility and Rumen pH

Summary with Implications Seven ruminally fistulated heifers were utilized in a 6 x 7 row-column design to evaluate two different Sweet Bran particle size products (1.8 or 2.5 mm) included at 13%, 18%, or 23% of the diet (DM) on total tract digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters. The treatment design was a 2 x 3 factorial. Rumen pH was reduced and organic matter digestibility tended to be reduced with the small particle size when Sweet Bran was included at 13% of the diet. Both NDF digestibility and dietary digestible energy concentration tended to improve with the larger particle size. The large particle size of Sweet Bran appears to aid in improving diet digestibility and moderating rumen pH, which is more marked with low dietary inclusions (less than 18%)

Effect of Feeding Whole Soybeans, Roasted Soybeans, or Distillers Grains in Silage-Based Growing Beef Diets

Summary with Implications An individual feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding raw whole soybeans (WSB), roasted whole (RSB) soybeans or distillers grains (MDGS) at three inclusions (7%, 14%, or 21% of diet dry matter) on growing performance, compared to a common control diet (0%) with urea. The greater inclusions of roasted soybeans or distillers grains increased gain and efficiency in growing cattle. Cattle fed the 21% inclusion of roasted soybeans were the most efficient, likely due to the protected protein increasing rumen undegradable protein content, and the additional energy from the higher levels of fat and protein. The 21% modified distillers grains diet resulted in the greatest intakes and gain, however efficiency was not improved when compared to the 21% raw whole soybean diet. These data suggest that soybeans can be fed to growing cattle to provide fat and protein, but roasting enhances the response in performance compared to raw soybeans and may be a suitable alternative to distillers grains without impacting performance

Supplementing Monensin and Rumen Undegradable Protein to Late-Gestation Heifers

Summary with Implications This study evaluates the effects of supplementing late-gestation heifers with rumen-undegradable protein and monensin on weight gain, feed efficiency, and reproductive performance, and subsequent impact on progeny. We hypothesized that supplementation would enhance growth and feed efficiency, ultimately improving cow and calf performance. Previously synchronized artificially inseminated heifers were fed ad libitum hay for 89 d prior to calving. Feed was top dressed with chelated mineral with or without monensin, dried distillers’ grains, or dried distillers’ grains and monensin. Supplementation with rumen undegradable protein increased growth rate and decreased calving difficulty with no further effects on cow or calf performance

Energy Value of High-Moisture Corn in Feedlot Cattle Diets Derived through Meta-Analysis

Summary with Implications Cattle feeders or their nutritionists who rely on high-moisture corn (HMC) use a standard adjustment to energy content of the diet based on observation or previous research reports. Because moisture content of HMC is the result of many field and harvest factors, a common adjustment to the energy value of HMC applied to all conditions may not be appropriate. The hypothesis that moisture content of HMC determines its energy concentration was tested. Through a meta-analysis, it was determined that feed intake was depressed while energy content of HMC increased at greater moisture content. A simple method to estimate the moisture contribution from HMC to the diet was derived to enhance the applicability of dietary energy prediction equations using the contribution of HMC moisture to the diet