Abstract
The influence of the replacement of soybean meal by crambe crushed in concentrated supplement at proportions 0, 5, 10, 15%, on the performance and carcass traits of grazing cows is assessed. Within a completely randomized design, twenty Nellore cows, fed on B rachiaria humidicola , were supplemented during the rain-drought transition period and monitored with regard to weight and body conditions every 28 days. Total forage mass and percentages of leaf, stem and senescent material were quantified in loco. The estimation of forage quality consumed by animals was performed by the simulated grazing method. There were no significant differences between the levels of inclusion of crambe crushed on animal performance or carcass characteristics. Replacement did not affect weight, carcass yield, Brazilian commercial cuts, morphometric measures of carcass, characteristics of loins, thickness of carcass fat, perirenal-pelvic fat and total meat. Replacement of soybean meal by crambe crushed up to 15% in the concentrated supplement does not affect performance and carcass characteristics of cows finished on pasture.
Highlights
Beef cattle breeding is a socially and economic important activity in Brazil
The advantages of Brazilian beef cattle may be underscored by economic competitiveness, meat production in a natural environment and the capacity to attend to demands of the most sophisticated markets
Samples of meals used in the formulations of concentrated supplements in the assay were sent to the Animal Nutrition Laboratory of the Faculty of Agrarian Sciences of the University of Grande Dourados (UFGD) where rates of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE) and mineral matter (MM) were analyzed, following methodology by AOAC (1998); the rates of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and lignin were determined by sequential method, following Van Soest et al (1991)
Summary
Beef cattle breeding is a socially and economic important activity in Brazil. The advantages of Brazilian beef cattle may be underscored by economic competitiveness, meat production in a natural environment and the capacity to attend to demands of the most sophisticated markets. Supplements to animals during the summer-winter transition period may be undertaken with different protein and energy sources at different supplementation levels (El-Memari Neto et al, 2003; Farias et al, 2012; Prado & Martins, 1999; Silva et al, 2010). High oil rates in crambe crushed are mainly due to the extraction method for the production of biodiesel and other activities (Souza, et al, 2009). Anderson et al (1993) analyzed finishing steers and did not find any difference in performance from animals fed on soy bran which totally replaced crambe bran. Current assay assessed the influence of replacement of soy bran by crambe crushed in the concentrated supplementation with regard to the performance and characteristics of culling cows’ carcass finished on pasture
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