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© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Simple Summary

The dry season is the most challenging season for beef cattle grazing. Intensification during the dry season ensures that animal performance is maintained and allows for increases in productivity per area. Thus, the use of concentrated supplementation not only ensures the adjustment of limiting nutrients in the pasture but also allows for the manipulation of the individual and area gain curve. The effects of nutritional strategies associated with supplementation levels and protein sources on the performance, blood parameters, and forage composition of Nelore animals in the rearing phase during the dry period of the year were evaluated. Two protein sources (PS) (soybean meal—SBM and dry distillers grain with soluble—DDGS) and two levels of concentrate (LC) (higher and lower) were tested in the Mombaça grass pastures. Higher levels of concentrate ensure greater productivity for beef cattle grazing. The highest LC increased the total weight gain of beef cattle grazing by 50.5%, while a lower LC increased the leaf/stem ratio (L/S) and crude protein (CP) content of Mombasa grass.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different nutritional strategies on the intensification of beef cattle farming on pastures during the dry period of the year. Eighty male cattle (testers) were randomly allocated to 16 paddocks formed with Mombaça grass (Megathyrsus maximus), totaling five animals (testers) per paddock. The strategies consisted of two LCs [10 and 16.7 g·kg−1 body weight (BW)] and two PSs with DDGS and SBM in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The chemical, structural, and productive characteristics of the forage were evaluated, as well as the performance, productivity, and serum parameters of the supplemented animals. The forage presented a greater L:C (p = 0.033) and CP content (p = 0.007) when the lowest LC was used. Animals that received the highest LC had the highest supplement intake (p < 0.001) and the lowest pasture intake (p < 0.001). The nutritional strategy with an LC of 16.7 g·kg−1 of body weight (BW) resulted in a greater increase in total BW, i.e., 200 kg·BW ha−1 more. Therefore, higher levels of concentrate ensure greater productivity for beef cattle grazing, and DDGS can replace SBM in supplements used in the intensive raising of beef cattle on pasture without compromising the performance and productivity of the animals.

Details

Title
Intensively Reared Nelore Steers with Levels of Concentrate and Protein Sources during the Dry Season
Author
de Faria, Artur C 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Bolson, Dheyme C 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Douglas dos S Pina 3 ; Prado, Thiago A 2 ; Roecker, Adriano N 1 ; Chaves, Carla S 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pereira, Dalton H 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Grupo de Estudos em Pecuária Integrada-GEPI, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Sinop 78550-728, Mato Grosso, Brazil; [email protected] (A.C.d.F.); [email protected] (A.N.R.); [email protected] (C.S.C.) 
 Departamento de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento da Fortuna Nutrição Animal, MT-320 km 198 Zona Rural, Nova Canaã do Norte 78515-000, Mato Grosso, Brazil[email protected] (T.A.P.) 
 Animal Science Department, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador 40170-115, Bahia, Brazil; [email protected] 
First page
1787
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20762615
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3072247094
Copyright
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.