Reducing supplementation frequency for Nellore beef steers grazing tropical pastures

Reduced supplementation frequency is a broadly applied management practice. Ruminants consuming low quality forages/pastures, supplemented less than once daily are able to maintain body weight gain (BWG), efficiency of use of dry matter, nitrogen and other nutrients, as compared with animals supplemented once daily. We evaluated the feeding behavior, dry matter intake (DMI), dry matter and organic matter digestibility (DMD and OMD), BWG, Longissimus muscle area and backfat depth of Nellore steers raised on Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu pastures during the dry season, with different supplementation patterns. Thirty six animals (338 ± 40.7 kg) were distributed over nine paddocks according to a completely randomized design. Treatments were based on supplementation frequency: once daily (OD), once daily except Saturdays and Sundays (SS), or on alternate days (AD), at 1.0 %, 1.4 % and 2.0 % BW, respectively. Average total DMI accounted for 1.6 % BW day–1, with no effect of supplementation frequency. Supplementation frequency had no effect on BWG or grazing time during the day. There was no difference in Longissimus muscle area animals supplemented daily, SS and AD. The backfat depth was thinner in animals supplemented AD, but even in this case, it was within the standards considered satisfactory for a finishing steer. Reducing supplementation frequency seems a good option to lower labor costs without affecting feed efficiency or carcass quality in beef cattle grazing tropical pastures

Padrões de deslocamento e permanência de bovinos em pastos de Brachiaria decumbens diferidos sob quatro estratégias de adubação Displacement and permanency patterns of grazing cattle on Brachiaria decumbens deferred under four fertilization strategies

Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o padrão de deslocamento e a permanência de bovinos em pastos de Brachiaria decumbens diferidos por 95 dias sob quatro estratégias de aplicação de nitrogênio (0-0, 100-0, 50-50, 0-100 kg de N.ha-1) no início e no final do período chuvoso. Durante o período de utilização dos pastos diferidos, na estação seca, foram avaliadas a produção, algumas características estruturais da forragem e o padrão de deslocamento. Para avaliação dessas variáveis, foram aplicados dez testes de pastejo de 45 minutos utilizando-se quatro novilhos e, para avaliação de tempo de permanência, foram utilizados 14 novilhas da raça Girolanda, monitoradas a cada 10 minutos durante 24 horas. Pastos adubados com 100 kg de nitrogênio no final do período chuvoso apresentaram maiores massas de forragem total e de lâmina de folha, altura estendida, densidade volumétrica da forragem total, lâmina de folha e de colmo verde em todos os estratos estudados. Os índices de acamamento foram maiores para os pastos adubados no final do período chuvoso (0-100 e 50-50). As estratégias de adubação de 0-100 e 50-50 resultaram em maior número de estações alimentares e de passos por minuto, como consequência da maior dificuldade de seleção da forragem em maior grau de acamamento. Em contrapartida, o número de bocados por estação e por minuto foi menor nessas estratégias de adubação. O tempo de permanência foi maior para os pastos cuja estratégia de adubação foi a aplicação de 100 kg de N.ha-1 no final do período chuvoso (0-100). Pastos adubados próximo ao período de vedação alteram os padrões de deslocamento dos animais, em razão do maior acamamento das plantas, e isso faz com que os animais dediquem mais tempo a essa estrutura de maior densidade de lâminas de folhas.<br>This study was conducted to evaluate the displacement and permanency patterns of grazing cattle on Brachiaria decumbens deferred during 95 days under four strategies of nitrogen application (0-0, 0-100, 50-50, 100-0 kg N.ha-1), at the beginning and at the end of the rainy season. During the deferred period, in the dry season, forage yield, canopy structural characteristics, and displacement pattern were evaluated. Four steers were used in Ten grazing tests of 45 minutes and 14 heifers Girolanda, monitored every 10 minutes during 24 hours, were used to evaluate the permanency time. Pastures fertilized with 100 kg N at the end of the rainy season had higher herbage and leaf blade, sward surface height, extended leaf height, sward leaf blade bulk density and stem mass in all canopy layers. The lodging rates were higher for pastures fertilized at the end of the rainy season (0-100 and 50-50). More feeding stations and steps per minute were found in 0-100 and 50-50 fertilization strategies, due to greater difficulty in forage selection with higher degree of lodging. On the other hand, the numbers of bites per feeding station and per minute were lower for these strategies. The permanency time was greater on pastures where the fertilization was 100 kg N.ha-1 at the end of the rainy season (0-100). Fertilization close to sealing period modify the displacement pattern of animals because the higher plants lodging making the animals to spend more time on pasture with greater density of leaf blade