Two experiments were conducted to examine the effect of previous BW gain during winter grazing on subsequent growth, carcass characteristics, and change in body composition during the feedlot finishing phase. In each experiment, 48 fall-weaned Angus x Angus-Hereford steer calves were assigned randomly to one of three treatments: 1) high rate of BW gain grazing winter wheat (HGW), 2) low rate of...

The goal of the trial was to evaluate the effects of ractopamine (20 ppm in the ration) given pregnant sows during three different pregnancy stages (T1: 25 to 50 d; T2: 50 to 80 d; T3: 25 to 80 d of gestation, and T4: control-no ractopamine) on fetal muscle development (through counts of the number of fibers of the semitendinosus muscle), on the growth and carcass characteristics of the progeny...

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of whole cottonseed or cottonseed products on performance and carcass characteristics of beef cattle. In Exp. 1, 120 beef steers (initial BW = 381 +/- 31.7 kg) were fed steam-flaked corn-based finishing diets with 10% (DM basis) basal roughage, and whole cottonseed or individual cottonseed components (cottonseed hulls, meal, and oil). Ov...

Two experiments were conducted over two years to evaluate the effect of including Optaflexx® 45 in cull cow finishing diets on performance, carcass characteristics, and carcass value. Experiment 1 evaluated the inclusion of Optaflexx® 45 in the diet, whereas Experiment 2 evaluated different inclusion concentrations in the finishing ration. In each experiment crossbred cows (Experiment 1, n=93; ...

Yearling steers were fed corn-based diets supplemented with urea or soybean meal plus urea, and none, 2%, or 4% fat. All steers were implanted with Revalor-S and fed for 118 days. Adding fat did not improve performance of the steers in the feedlot or improve carcass characteristics. Feeding soybean meal increased rate of gain, improved feed efficiency, increased carcass weight, and tended to im...

To investigate the effect of bactocell and protexin probiotics on performance and carcass characteristics of broilers, an experiment was conducted with completely randomized design with 3 treatments in 4 replicates and 25 day old female cobb 500 broiler chickens for each replicate for fortytwo days. Treatments include: 1-Control diet (without probiotics), 2-Control diet containing bactocell pro...

Lambs were assigned to a 2x2 factorial design with corn or barley fed either whole or rolled. Hay was fed for ad libitum intake while concentrates were fed in similar amounts. Dry matter intake of hay, ADG, the gain:feed ratio, and warm carcass weight (WCW) were higher (P<0.05) for lambs fed corn than for those fed barley. Cereal processing had no effect (P>0.05) on hay dry matter intake, ADG, ...

Two commercial feedlot experiments were conducted to determine the effects of feeding melengestrol acetate (MGA) or MGA plus ractopamine (MGA+OPT) on the performance and carcass characteristics of finishing heifers. In Nebraska (Exp. 1), 1,807 heifers (337.3 ± 20.0 kg) and in Texas (Exp. 2), 1,964 heifers (331.5 ± 6.1 kg) were fed 0.4 mg of MGA daily. For heifers fed MGA+OPT, 200 mg of ractopam...

Brahman cattle are important in tropical regions due to their ability to tolerate excessive heat and parasites. However, Brahman cattle exhibit lower carcass quality characteristics when compared to Bos taurus breeds. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in six candidate genes for carcass quality and composition traits...