The Effects of Trace Mineral Supplementation on Performance, Health, and Carcass Quality of At-Risk Mineral Deficient Feedlot Cattle

Morbidity in feedlot cattle due to disease is a common economical loss for feedlot producers. Utah is not typically considered a ‘feedlot state’, but there are several producers in the southern part of the state that specialize in receiving at-risk cattle. These cattle are at-risk because they are coming from areas known to be mineral deficient. Areas such as the western US, are known to be deficient in several trace minerals important in immune response. Therefore, it is critical that producers have an adequate plan to decrease the negative effects that this has on economic viability of their beef operations, especially for those feedlots specializing in receiving at-risk cattle. In this study yearling Black Angus steers received one of four treatments: no mineral supplementation, oral supplementation of minerals provided at levels similar to NRC requirements, oral supplementation of minerals provided at levels above NRC requirements, or a MultiMin® injection at labeled dose. Liver and blood samples were collected to measure mineral status and cortisol levels. Back fat and ribeye area measurements were also recorded. Weight of the steers were recorded every two weeks to determine average daily gain and feed:gain ratio. At the end of the study, steers were harvested at a local harvesting plant and carcass traits were obtained and recorded. There were no differences in weight gain, overall average daily gain, dry matter intake, or feed:gain ratio between the different treatment groups. Steers that were fed the HM had increased liver copper and selenium concentrations, but there was no effect observed on liver manganese and zinc concentrations. Carcass quality and antibody titers did not differ between the different treatments. These data indicate that different mineral supplementation strategies have a diverse effect on feedlot performance and liver mineral concentrations over time, and additional research is needed to better understand these differences

Effects of Feeding a Novel Alfalfa Leaf Pellet Product (ProLEAF MAX) and Alfalfa Stems (ProFiber Plus) on Performance in the Feedlot and Carcass Quality of Beef Steers

Alfalfa is often included in the diets of beef animals; however, the nutrient content of alfalfa is variable depending on the region in which it is grown, climate, soil, and many other factors. The leaf portion of alfalfa has a less variable nutrient composition than the stem portion of the plant. The variability that is present in the alfalfa plant can make the development of total mixed rations of consistent nutrient content difficult. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine how the inclusion of fractionated alfalfa leaves and alfalfa stems impacts performance and carcass quality of finishing beef steers. Twenty-four steers were allocated to one of three treatments: a control group fed a typical finishing diet with alfalfa as the forage (CON; n = 8), a typical diet that replaced alfalfa with fractionated alfalfa leaf pellets and alfalfa stems (ProLEAF MAX™ + ProFiber Plus™; PLM+PFP; n = 8), or a typical diet that replaced alfalfa with alfalfa stems (PFP; n = 8) for 63 days. Steers were fed individually once daily, weighed every 14 days and ultrasound images were collected every 28 days. At the end of the feeding trial, steers were harvested at a commercial facility and carcass data was obtained. Analysis of dry matter intake demonstrated that steers receiving the PFP and CON diets consumed more feed (P \u3c 0.001) than steers consuming the PLM+PFP diet. Steers receiving the PLM+PFP diet gained less (P \u3c 0.001) weight than the steers receiving the other two dietary treatments. No differences (P \u3e 0.10) in feed efficiency or carcass characteristics were observed. Steers receiving the PFP diet had improved (P = 0.016) cost of gain ($0.93 per kg) when compared with steers receiving PLM+PFP ($1.08 per kg) diet. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the inclusion of PFP in place of alfalfa hay in a finishing diet has the potential to improve cost of gain, without negatively affecting growth, performance, or carcass characteristics of finishing feedlot steers