Dairy cow and beef cattle updates

摘要

THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE INGREDIEKTS ARE INCREASINGLY INCORPORATED IN CATTLE DIETS. THESE MAY HAVE EFFECTS ON MILK AND BEEF PRODUCTION. HERE WE SHARE SOME OF THE LATEST RESEARCH INSIGHTS. At the Alpharma Beef Cattle Nutrition symposium, held in July 2009, the challenges regarding incorporation of alternative energy sources into high-energy diets for finishing beef cattle were discussed. Much of the dietary energy in feedlot diets for beef cattle has and continues to originate from the inclusion of corngrain. However, as the more traditional sources of energy for cattle are being diverted to supply substrates for other purposes (e. g., ethanol production), feedlot diet formulation must adapt. Concurrently, price volatility of grain sources, increasesin cost per unit of energy, and locally availability of co-products impact the formulation of high-energy feedlot diets for finishing cattle. These challenges to the continued use of traditional high-energy feedlot diets for beef cattle have compelled the beef cattle feeding industry to identify and utilize a greater array of co-products from other production systems as alternative energy sources in feedlot diets. Incorporation of alternative energy sources presents both opportunities and challenges todiet formulation, determination of feed energy content, practical feed delivery and utilization, beef cattle performance, digestive physiology, and carcass characteristic . Reference: Alpharma Beef Cattle Nutrition Symposium: Alternative energy sources for beef cattle finishing diets, Hersom MJ, Boss DL, Wagner JJ, Zinn RA, Branine ME, Journal of Animal Science 2010 Jan 29. Contact: Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, USA.