Performance of beef cattle females grazing under different feeding systems based on native pastures in southern Brazil

摘要

In the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul,most bovine females are bred for the first time at three years of age, while backgrounding of beef heifers is one of the most onerous phases of the productive cycle.In this phase a feeding system that explores to the maximum the herbage resources of the area,such as the native pasture,should be used to make possible a constant growth with live weight gain rates that allow the heifers to reach puberty with the smallest possible age.In this region, the natural grasslands are used to feed about 90% of the beef cattle herd.