Production and economic viability of feedlot beef cattle categories

This study was realized to evaluate the production and economic viability of finished beef cattle in feedlot in the Cerrado biome of Piauí State, Brazil. One hundred and fifty cattle -50 bulls (B) with an body weight of 283.0 ± 20.82 kg, at 30 months of age; and 100 cull cows (CC) with an body weight of 296.1 ± 17.80 kg, at 100 months of age- were used in a completely randomized design. The animal performance indicators for the evaluation of economic viability were initial age (months), slaughter age (months), was initial body weight (kg), final body weight (kg), daily feed intake (kg animal-1; kg kg-1 BW), diet cost (R$kg-1 of diet), cost of kg produced (R$ kg-1 produced), and average price of the kg of meat for finishing (R$). The CC consumed more sorghum silage and concentrate than B (p < 0.05).There was a difference between the categories (p < 0.05) for gross revenue, balance, opportunity cost, and net revenue per animal, with higher values found for the steer category. The animal category did not affect the profitability of the system, although the bulls provided lower revenues than cull cows.

Feeding behavior of categories of feedlot-finished beef cattle

<div><p>ABSTRACT. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the feeding behavior of feedlot-finished bulls and cull cows in the Cerrado region of Piauí State, Brazil. Forty Zebu cattle were used, of which 20 steers averaging 283.0 ± 20.82 kg initial body weight and 30 months of age; and 20 cull cows averaging 296.1 ± 17.80 kg initial body weight and 100 months of age. Animals were grouped according to the following treatments: bulls and cull cows, using a completely randomized design. Feeding behavior was evaluated by means of visual observations every five minutes during 24h. Results were subjected to analysis of variance by the F test (p < 0.05) using the System for Statistical and Genetic Analysis - SAEG (version 9.1). The feeding behavior was expected not to affect the feed intake of cull cows and bulls, so that feed management can be the same for both categories. For all variables, there were differences between the categories (p > 0.05), showing that feeding behavior is influenced by the cattle category.</p></div