Effect of feeding a compound feed with a low starch content on the performance of intensively fed beef cattle

Abstract

The performance of Holstein Friesian bulls on commercial beef farms is highly variable and, on average, falls well short of the generally accepted cereal beef target of a minimum 260kg carcase at around a year old from cattle gaining at least 1.15kg per day from birth to slaughter (Allen and Browne 2005). The carcase weights and daily liveweight gains (DLWG) recorded by bottom 1/3rd and top 1/3rd commercial producers were 266kg and 0.95kg, and 299kg and 1.15kg respectively. It was suggested that many producers restricted concentrate feeds for at least part of the feeding period and included forage, including grazing in some cases. The formulation of the ration fed to the bulls could also have influenced performance. There is limited data on the optimum quantity of starch to include in a ration for intensively fed beef cattle The objective of this experiment was therefore to determine the effect of feeding compounds containing either a high or low level of starch to intensively reared Holstein Friesian bulls.