Effects of grain source and monensin level on growth performance, carcass traits and fatty acid profile in feedlot beef steers
Introduction
Wheat grain is grown primarily to produce flour for human use with the milling byproducts being used as livestock feed. However, with adverse growing or harvesting conditions, there is an increase in the amount of wheat that fails to meet the quality grade for human consumption and is fed to livestock in North America. Traditionally, the majority of wheat has been used as feed for poultry and swine as beef cattle producers have been reluctant to use large quantities of feed because wheat has the most rapid rate of starch digestion in the rumen among the cereal grains (Owens et al., 1997). Rapid starch digestion in the rumen increases the production rate of fermentation acids, thus increases the incidence of ruminal acidosis. In general, wheat is higher in starch and protein, and lower in fibre than barley (NRC, 2000), resulting in a total digestible nutrient and net energy for gain content that is comparable to corn. However, owing to the number of different types of wheat, that is soft, hard, and durum the physical characteristics and nutrient content of wheat can vary considerably. Recently, He et al. (2013) reported that although ruminal pH slightly decreased, ruminal fermentation and nutrient digestibility in the total digestive tract were not affected with increasing the rate of wheat inclusion in finishing diets.
Grain kernel hardness has been described as the resistance of the kernel to fracture (Anjum and Walker, 1991). In barley, grain hardness is gaining importance in quality determination, while the wheat industry has used it for decades to differentiate grain quality and market classes. Hard wheat kernels require more force to fracture while soft wheat grains require less energy, caused by differences in the endosperm starch–protein matrix. McAllister et al. (1993) concluded that the protein matrix seemed to be the major factor responsible for differences in ruminal digestion of starch. Rapid starch degradation may lower ruminal pH, depress fiber digestion, and cause digestive disturbances such as acidosis, rumenitis, liver abscesses and bloat (McAllister et al., 1990). Dugan et al. (2007) reported that the most prominent trans-18:1 isomers in feedlot back fat were 10t-18:1 and vaccenic acid (t11-18:1; VA). In addition, Dugan et al. (2011) reported that cattle that were fed grain with highly fermentable starch shifted in the BH pathways towards producing t10-18:1 from VA. There is little information available on the effect of high wheat grain diet on fatty acid profile in beef.
Additionally, ionophores, particularly monensin are commonly fed to beef cattle in North American feedlots, and generally improve feed efficiency of cattle. However, recently there is indication that high energy density diets such as diets that contain highly processed grain are less responsive to monensin addition (DiLorenzo and Galyean, 2010). Hence, there has been trend to increase monensin in feedlot diets to levels up to 48 mg monensin/kg diet DM (Xu et al., 2013). As the use of growth-promoting antibiotics in livestock is under increasing public scrutiny, information on the value of using high-levels of monensin in feed yard diets is needed but very limited. Therefore, the objectives of this study were firstly to compare sources of grain (barley vs. wheat) or type of wheat (hard vs. soft wheat) on growth performance, carcass traits, and beef fatty acid profile; and secondly to determine whether there is merit to increase level of monensin in high-grain finishing diets.
Section snippets
Materials and methods
The study received approval of the institutional Animal Care Committee of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Research Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta, and was conducted according to the guidelines of Canadian Council on Animal Care (2009).
Feed intake and growth performance
Substituting wheat for barley grain in the feedlot finishing diets with ML increased intakes of DM (P < 0.02), CP (P < 0.01) and starch (P < 0.01; Table 2). However, intake of NDF was reduced (P < 0.01). There was no interaction between wheat source and level of monensin on feed intake. Steers fed HW diet had greater intakes of NDF (P < 0.02) and CP (P < 0.01) than steers fed SW diet without differences in the intakes DM and starch. Increasing monensin from 28 to 44 mg/kg DM diet consistently decreased (P <
Substituting wheat for barley
The lack of the differences in final BW, ADG, G:F, and NEg between barley and wheat fed steers is consistent with early studies. Galloway et al. (1993) found similar final BW and ADG between steers supplemented with barley grain at 1.07 kg/100 kg BW or wheat grain at 1.02 kg/100 kg BW. In a review article, Owens et al. (1997) reported on average the DMI, ADG, and G:F of finishing beef cattle fed barley vs. wheat-based diets were not different but they were different from cattle fed milo-based diet.
Conclusions
Entirely replacing barley with wheat grain in high-grain feedlot diet did not affect ADG, feed efficiency and carcass traits of beef steers, but, increased DMI with wheat diets. Furthermore, sources of wheat grain (hard vs. soft) had also subtle influence on DMI, growth performance and carcass traits of steers. These results indicate that wheat grain can effectively replace barley grain in finishing diet without adverse impact on growth performance and carcass traits. It concluded that wheat
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that no conflict of interest, financial or other, exists.
Acknowledgements
Financial support from the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund is appreciated. The authors thank the Lethbridge Research Centre barn staff for their care and management of the animals, and Alastair Furtado for his technical assistance.
References (52)
- et al.
Rumen digestibility of starch and nitrogen in near-isogenic lines of wheat
Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.
(2000) - et al.
Substitution of wheat dried distillers grains with solubles for barley silage and barley grain in a finishing diet increases polyunsaturated fatty acids including linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids in beef
Anim. Feed Sci. Tech.
(2012) - et al.
Effect of dietary forage concentration and buffer addition on duodenal flow of trans-C18:1 fatty acids and milk fat production in dairy cows
J. Dairy Sci.
(1997) - et al.
Fatty acid profile, color and lipid oxidation of meat from young bulls fed ground soybean or rumen protected fat with or without monensin
Meat Sci.
(2014) - et al.
Effects of monensin and tylosin concentrations in limit-fed, high-energy growing diets for beef cattle
Prof. Anim. Sci.
(2003) - et al.
Effects of processing on feeding value of sprouted barley and sprouted durum wheat in growing and finishing diets for beef cattle
Prof. Anim. Sci.
(2005) - et al.
Fibrolytic enzyme supplements for dairy cows in early lactation
J. Dairy Sci.
(1999) - et al.
Feeding value of sprouted wheat (Triticum aestivum) for beef cattle finishing diets
Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.
(1986) - et al.
Trans-vaccenic acid is desaturated to conjugated linoleic acid in mice
J. Nutr.
(2000) - et al.
Relative contributions of acetate, lactate and glucose to lipogenesis in bovine intramuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissue
J. Nutr.
(1984)
Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition
J. Dairy Sci.
Effects of wheat source and monensin level on intake and rumen fermentation in feedlot heifers
J. Anim. Sci.
Review on the significance of starch and protein to wheat kernel hardness
J. Sci. Food Agric.
Effect of lipid supplements on ruminal biohydrogenation intermediates and muscle fatty acids in lambs
Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol.
New Developments in Feeding Wheat to Cattle. Cattlement's Day
Use of dried distillers grains throughout a beef production system: effects on stocker and finishing performance, carcass characteristics, and fatty acid composition of beef
J. Anim. Sci.
Protein and selenium levels for growing and finishing beef cattle
J. Anim. Sci.
Elaidic acid, vaccenic acid and rumenic acid (c9,t11-CLA) determination in human plasma phospholipids and human milk by fast gas chromatography
Anal. Methods
Methods for analysis of conjugated linoleic acids and trans-18:1 isomers in dairy fats by using a combination of gas chromatography, silver-ion thin-layer chromatography/gas chromatography, and silverion liquid chromatography
J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. Int.
Applying technology with newer feed ingredients in feedlot diets: do the old paradigms apply?
J. Anim. Sci.
Review: Trans-forming beef to provide healthier fatty acid profiles
Can. J. Anim. Sci.
Comparing subcutaneous adipose tissue in beef and muskox with emphasis on trans 18:1 and conjugated linoleic acids
Lipids
Quantifying the effect of monensin dose on the rumen volatile fatty acid profile in high-grain-fed beef cattle
J. Anim. Sci.
Interaction between bunk management and monensin concentration on finishing performance, feeding behavior, and ruminal metabolism during an acidosis challenge with feedlot cattle
J. Anim. Sci.
Cited by (8)
Grazing diverse combinations of tanniferous and non-tanniferous legumes: Implications for beef cattle performance and environmental impact
2020, Science of the Total EnvironmentCitation Excerpt :Thus, the synergistic effect of ingesting a diversity of types and concentration of nutrients and CT with sainfoin and birdsfoot trefoil, in conjunction with the ingestion of protein-dense legumes like alfalfa and diverse orosensorial experiences likely contributed to enhance BW gains in heifers grazing 3-way choices of legumes. Average daily gains by heifers grazing legumes in the present study (0.95 kg/d) was much greater than reported for grass-finishing diets (0.6 kg/d; Elizalde et al., 1998; Pelletier et al., 2010a; Capper, 2012), although lower than those reported in conventional feedlots (1.7–2.0 kg/d; Xu et al., 2014; Ebert et al., 2017; Koenig et al., 2018). Greater BW gains in legume vs. grass-finishing systems imply a reduction in the number of days to slaughter, resulting in reduced environmental impacts, and less land and water use for forage-based beef production systems (Capper, 2012; Hristov et al., 2013).
Comparison of meat quality and health implications of branded and commodity beef
2020, Applied Animal ScienceCitation Excerpt :Moreover, there is little evidence suggesting dietary inclusion of ionophores (and possibly β-agonists) and steroid implantation affect beef fatty acid composition. Including monensin in the diets of finishing cattle did not alter levels of total SFA, total MUFA, or total PUFA in the LM (Marmer et al., 1985) or diaphragm (Xu et al., 2014). Moreover, Kennett and Siebert (1987) found that implanting cattle once with 20 mg of estradiol benzoate + 200 mg of progesterone did not alter the fatty acid composition of the LM when compared with nonimplanted controls.
Feed efficiency and carcass traits of feedlot lambs supplemented either monensin or increasing doses of copaiba (Copaifera spp.) essential oil
2017, Animal Feed Science and TechnologyCitation Excerpt :More recently, Soares et al. (2012) reported that MON supplementation decreased subcutaneous fat (−35.6%) of crossbred lambs. However, the outcomes of MON supplementation on subcutaneous fat thickness in ruminants are inconsistent in literature, being the lack of effects consistently described (Xu et al., 2014; Montano et al., 2015). Measurements of the subprimal yield (carcass cuts) are useful since they refer the proportion of carcass eligible for human consumption.
Ultrasonic-assisted incorporation of nano-encapsulated omega-3 fatty acids to enhance the fatty acid profile of pork meat
2017, Meat ScienceCitation Excerpt :Studies have shown that the alteration of feeding regime e.g. grass fed vs grain fed can also improve meat fatty acid profile (Daley, Abbott, Doyle, Nader, & Larson, 2010). In the last decade, specific strategies for increasing the level of fatty acids with beneficial health effects, while reducing the content of saturated fatty acids, have been a subject of active research (Horcada et al., 2016; Mapiye et al., 2015; Pouzo, Fanego, Santini, Descalzo, & Pavan, 2015; Xu, He, Liang, McAllister, & Yang, 2014). Different strategies have also been adopted to particularly focus on intramuscular fat (Scollan et al., 2006).
The effect of fibre source in finishing diets on lamb performance and muscle fatty acid composition
2023, South African Journal of Animal ScienceHow dietary cottonseed hull affects the performance of young bulls finished in a high-concentrate system
2017, Animal Production Science