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Superintendent
David Davis
21262 Genoa Road
Linneus, MO 64653
Phone: 660 895-5121
FAX: 660 895=5122
Email:
DavisDK@missouri.edu
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This paper was published in the Proceedings AFGC Annual
Conference at Vancouver BC, June 12-16, 1996.
PERFORMANCE OF STEERS FINISHED ON PASTURE
WITH FOUR LEVELS OF GRAIN SUPPLEMENTATION
F.A.Martz, V.G. Tate, and J.R. Gerrish1
Finishing beef cattle on pasture offers alternatives
to high capital investment for feedlot finishing and
waste management problems associated with confinement
feeding. A study was conducted to evaluate the
performance and meat quality of steers receiving
different levels of grain feeding on intensively managed
cool season pastures. Cattle which were fed no grain
gained 1.93 lbs/head/day. Supplying 25% of the diet as
grain did not significantly improve average daily gain
(ADG) while feeding 50 or 75% of the diet as grain
improved both ADG and carcass quality grades. Cattle
finished conventionally in a feedlot had higher ADG and
higher carcass grades than any of the pasture fed cattle.
The cattle receiving no grain had lighter carcasses, less
fat, and lower dressing percentages than supplemented
cattle. Cost per pound of gain was significantly lower
for the 0 grain cattle compared to either feedlot or
pasture supplemented treatments. In informal taste tests
using prime ribs and sirloin steaks with 62 people
involved, there was no difference in preference among any
of the treatments. The shift of consumer preference
toward leaner cuts of meat and smaller cuts may offer
future marketing potential for pasture finished beef.
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1Research Professor of Animal Sciences and Superintendent;
Research Associate; and Research Assistant Professor of Plant
Science, respectively; University of Missouri-Forage Systems Research
Center, Rt. 1 Box 80, Linneus, MO 64653
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