Increasing the extent of starch digestibility during finishing could allow producers to improve cattle efficiency. A finishing performance study was conducted to determine the effect of Enogen Feed Corn inclusion as dry-rolled corn and corn silage in comparison to a control corn hybrid within natural and conventional feeding programs for heifers and steers. Cattle in the conventional feeding program received implants and the ration included feed additives, while cattle on the natural program were not implanted and the ration did not contain feed additives. The inclusion of Enogen Feed Corn had no impact on steer or heifer finishing performance. The use of implants and feed additives in the conventional feeding program increased hot carcass weight 12.2% in steers and 7.0% in heifers. When compared to cattle in the natural program, feeding cattle in a conventional program improved feed conversion by 19.4% in steers and 13.0% in heifers

Erickson, Galen E.

Jenkins, K. H., PAS

Loza, Pablo L.

Miller, Jessica

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports Animal Science, Department of 2023 Effect of Enogen Feed Corn Inclusion in Conventional and Natural Finishing Cattle Diets Jessica Miller K. H. Jenkins PAS Galen E. Erickson Pablo L. Loza Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr  Part of the Large or Food Animal and Equine Medicine Commons, Meat Science Commons, and the Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 64 · 2023 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report©  The Board Regents of the University of  Nebraska. All rights reserved.Effect of Enogen Feed Corn Inclusion in Conventional  and Natural Finishing Cattle DietsJessica L. MillerKarla H. WilkeGalen E. EricksonPablo L. LozaSummary with ImplicationsIncreasing the extent of starch digestibility during finishing could allow producers to improve cattle efficiency. A finishing perfor-mance study was conducted to determine the effect of Enogen Feed Corn inclusion as dry- rolled corn and corn silage in compari-son to a control corn hybrid within natural and conventional feeding programs for heifers and steers. Cattle in the conventional feeding program received implants and the ration included feed additives, while cattle on the natural program were not implanted and the ration did not contain feed additives. The inclusion of Enogen Feed Corn had no im-pact on steer or heifer finishing performance. The use of implants and feed additives in the conventional feeding program increased hot carcass weight 12.2% in steers and 7.0% in heifers. When compared to cattle in the natu-ral program, feeding cattle in a conventional program improved feed conversion by 19.4% in steers and 13.0% in heifers.IntroductionInclusion of amylase enzymes in fin-ishing rations can improve starch diges-tion and improve feed efficiency during the finishing period. Enogen Feed Corn (Syngenta Seeds, Inc.) contains an alpha amylase enzyme trait and improves total tract starch digestion when fed as dry- rolled corn with the inclusion of Sweet Bran (Cargill wet milling, Blair, NE) or modified distillers grains (2016 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report, pp. 139– 142). The improvement in feed efficiency due to inclusion of Enogen Feed Corn as dry- rolled corn in finishing diets has been variable (2016 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report, pp. 135– 138; 2016 Nebras-ka Beef Cattle Report, pp. 143– 145). The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of feeding Enogen Feed corn as dry- rolled corn and corn silage within natural and conventional programs on steer and heifer finishing performance and carcass characteristics.ProcedureCrossbred steers (n=400; initial BW= 843± 73 lb) and heifers (n=200; initial BW=728 ± 42 lb) were utilized in a 2 × 2 factorial design study at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Exten-sion Center (PREEC) near Scottsbluff, NE. Factors were corn hybrid type and feeding program. The factor of corn hybrid consist-ed of Enogen Feed Corn (EFC) inclusion as the dry- rolled corn (DRC) and silage source or a control corn hybrid as the DRC and silage source (CON). Each corn hybrid was fed within a natural feeding program, where the diet did not include additives or implants, or in a conventional feeding pro-gram where cattle received implants (Com-ponent implants; Elanco Animal Health) and the diet included Rumensin (Elanco Animal Health) at 30 g/ton of DM, Tylan (Elanco Animal Health) at 8.8 g/ton of DM, and MGA (Zoetis) fed to heifers only to provide 0.5 mg/heifer daily (Table 1).Prior to trial initiation, cattle were limit- fed at approximately 2% of body weight for five days to equalize gut fill. The limit fed diet contained 80% alfalfa hay, 14% MDGS and 6% supplement. Cattle were weighed on d - 1. Steers and heifers assigned to the conventional program were implanted on days 0 and 1 (Component TE- S and Com-ponent TE- H, for steers and heifers, re-spectively). Cattle were stratified by weight within sex and blocked by weight. Steers were then assigned randomly to pens with-in 5 weight blocks for a total of 40 pens and 10 replications per treatment. Heifers were assigned randomly to pens within 3 weight blocks for a total of 20 pens and 5 repli-cations per treatment. Pens were assigned randomly to one of four treatments. Steers and heifers in the conventional program were reimplanted with Component TE- 200 (Elanco Animal Health) on day 56.Cattle were harvested by block at Tyson Fresh Meats, at 155, 175, and 183 d on feed. Hot carcass weight (HCW) and liver abscess scores were recorded on the day of slaughter. After a 48- hour chill, USDA marbling score, longissimus muscle (LM) area, and 12th rib fat depth were recorded. Carcass adjusted final body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and feed effi-ciency were calculated from final BW based on HCW adjusted to a 63% dress. Feed efficiency (G:F) were analyzed, but data are reported as feed conversion (F:G).The MIXED procedure of SAS was used Table 1. Dietary treatment composition (DM basis) fed to finishing cattleIngredientSteers HeifersConventional1 Natural Conventional1 NaturalDry- Rolled Corn2 60 60 60 60Corn Silage2 20 20 20 20MDGS3 14 14 14 14Supplement 6 6 6 61 Rumensin- 90 was formulated in the diet at 30 g/ton1 Tylan- 100 was formulated in the diet at 8.8 g/ton1 MGA was formulated in the conventional heifer treatment diet at 0.5 mg/hd/d2Cattle on the ENO treatment received the Enogen Feed Corn hybrid DRC and corn silage while cattle on the CON treatment received the control corn hybrid as DRC and corn silage3MDGS = Modified distillers grains plus solubles2023 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report · 65 program. Feeding heifers in the conven-tional program increased HCW by 56 lb compared to heifers in the natural feeding program (P < 0.01). Yield grade and fat depth increased when cattle were fed in the conventional program (P < 0.01). Steers were leaner than heifers at slaughter, with 12th rib fat depth being significantly less in steers (P <0.01). Inclusion of Enogen Feed Corn as DRC and silage in finishing heifers and steers decreased LM area by 2.3% compared to cattle fed the control DRC and corn silage (P = 0.05; Table 3).Enogen Feed Corn processed as DRC retained 21% more particles than the con-ventional corn hybrid on the largest screen (6300 μm, whole corn) (Table 4). The control corn hybrid retained 14.9% more particles on the 3350 μm screen than Eno-gen Feed Corn. These data suggest Enogen Feed Corn may not have been processed to the extent that the control corn hybrid was processed.ConclusionThe inclusion of Enogen Feed Corn had no effect on feed conversion in natural or conventional feeding programs. The incorporation of implants and feed addi-Significant sex × feeding program interactions were observed for carcass adjusted final BW, DMI, ADG, F:G, HCW, and LM area (P < 0.01). Gains of heifers on the natural program were 0.52 lb/d lower in comparison to heifers in the conventional feeding program (P < 0.01). Feeding steers in the natural program reduced ADG by 0.93 lb/d when compared to steers in the conventional program (P < 0.01). Carcass adjusted final BW decreased by 166 lb in natural steers and 90 lb in natural heifers compared to conventional programs (P < 0.01). Dry matter intake was similar between natural and conventional heifers (P = 0.31), while natural steers consumed 1.4 lb/d less than steers in the conventional program (P < 0.01). Feed conversions of conventional steers and heifers were not significantly different (P = 0.96) while feed conversion improved by 6.0% when com-paring natural heifers to natural steers (P < 0.01). Compared to cattle in the natural program feed conversion improved by 13.0% when heifers were fed in a conven-tional program (P < 0.01) and 19.4% when steers were fed in a conventional program (P < 0.01). Hot carcass weights of steers on the conventional program were 104 lb heavier than HCWs of steers on the natural to analyze animal performance and carcass characteristics with pen as the experimental unit and block as a fixed effect. Data were analyzed as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial assessing interactions between sex, program, and Enogen Feed Corn inclusion. When no interactions were detected, the main effects of Enogen Feed Corn inclusion, program, and sex were evaluated. Simple effects of program within each sex were evaluated when a significant interaction occurred.ResultsNo significant feeding program × corn hybrid interactions (P ≥ 0.13), or sex × corn hybrid interactions (P ≥ 0.12) were observed. A sex × feeding program × corn hybrid (P = 0.01; Table 2) interaction was observed for DMI. Inclusion of Enogen Feed Corn in natural heifer diets tended to increase DMI by 0.25 lb/d (P = 0.10), while hybrid inclusion had no impact on DMI of heifers in the conventional feeding program. Feeding Enogen Feed Corn in conventional steer diets tended to increase DMI by 0.7 lb/d (P = 0.06) when compared to steers consuming the control corn hybrid diet. Corn hybrid had no impact on DMI when fed in natural steer diets (P = 0.15).Table 2. Simple effect of program within sex on performance and carcass characteristicsItemSteers HeifersSEMP- valueCONV1 NAT2 CONV NAT S*P*E3 S*P4 Sex ProgramPens 20 20 10 10PerformanceInitial BW, lb 844 843 728 728 1.3 0.71 0.74 <0.01 0.86Final BW, lb5 1523 1357 1353 1263 12.5 0.14 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01DMI, lb/d5 23.8 24.3 24.6 24.2 0.28 0.01 0.02 <0.01 <0.01ADG, lb/d5 3.89 2.96 3.66 3.14 0.075 0.20 <0.01 0.49 <0.01Feed:Gain5 6 6.61 8.20 6.71 7.71 - 0.99 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01Carcass CharacteristicsHCW, lb 959 855 852 796 7.8 0.14 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01Yield Grade 3.31 3.20 3.45 3.23 0.081 0.15 0.26 0.12 <0.01Marbling7 564 593 583 575 13.8 0.06 0.09 0.82 0.38LM area, in2 14.4 13.2 13.3 12.9 0.18 0.34 <0.01 <0.01 <0.0112th Rib Fat, in 0.57 0.52 0.65 0.56 0.021 0.16 0.21 <0.01 <0.011CONV = Conventional feeding program received implants and feed additives2NAT = Natural feeding program did not receive implants or feed additives3S*P*E = Sex × program × Enogen Feed Corn inclusion interaction4S*P = Sex × program interaction5Calculated using hot carcass weight with a 63% dressing percentage adjustment6 Analyzed as Gain:Feed, reciprocal of Feed:Gain7Marbling Score 500=Modest00, 600=Moderate0066 · 2023 Nebraska Beef Cattle Reporttives within the finishing period increased carcass adjusted final BW, HCW, and ADG leading to improved feed conversion for both steers and heifers.Jessica L. Miller, graduate studentKarla H. Wilke, professor, animal science, Panhandle Research and Extension Center, ScottsbluffGalen E. Erickson, professor, animal science, LincolnPablo L. Loza, professor, animal science, Panhandle Research and Extension Center, ScottsbluffTable 3. Main effect of Enogen Feed Corn inclusion as DRC and corn silage on performance and carcass characteristicsItem CON1 EFC2 SEM P- valuePens 30 30PerformanceInitial BW, lb 746 745 0.8 0.44Final BW, lb3 1331 1326 8.1 0.58DMI, lb/d3 23.8 24.1 0.18 0.35ADG, lb3 3.37 3.35 0.049 0.71Feed:Gain3 4 7.16 7.28 - 0.22Carcass CharacteristicsHCW, lb 839 835 5.1 0.57Yield Grade 3.19 3.25 0.052 0.30Marbling5 572 565 8.9 0.53LM area, in2 13.4 13.1 0.12 0.0512th Rib Fat, in 0.55 0.56 0.014 0.561CON = Control corn hybrid included in the diet as DRC and corn silage2EFC = Enogen Feed Corn hybrid included in the diet as DRC and corn silage3Calculated using hot carcass weight with a 63% dressing percentage adjustment4 Analyzed as Gain:Feed, reciprocal of Feed:Gain5Marbling Score 500=Modest00, 600=Moderate00Table 4. Corn particle size distribution of CON DRC and EFC DRC with geometric mean diameter (GMD) and geometric standard deviation (GSD)Screen Size, μmCON1 DRC EFC2 DRCPercent Retained CV Percent Retained CV6300 3.07 69.81 24.09 8.484750 29.49 28.98 32.45 15.703350 44.48 24.66 29.58 22.741700 16.01 2.98 9.56 8.471410 1.38 21.97 1.08 7.60850 2.32 28.82 1.44 21.06600 0.84 6.51 0.72 59.90<600 2.41 6.85 1.08 32.85GMD, μm 3478 - 2848 - GSD, μm 1445 - 722 - 1CON = Control corn hybrid included in the diet as DRC2EFC = Enogen Feed Corn hybrid included in the diet as DRC

Effect of Enogen Feed Corn Inclusion in Conventional and Natural Finishing Cattle Diets

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Effect of Enogen Feed Corn Inclusion in Conventional and Natural Finishing Cattle Diets

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