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Simple Summary: Partial removal of corn oil from corn-based distillers grains plus solubles is becoming commonplace since introduced in 2012. As a result of partial oil removal, distillers grains' fat content has decreased from an average of 12 to 13% down to an average of 6 to 9% on a DM basis, with most ethanol plants producing corn-based distillers grains with an average of 8 to 9% corn oil today. There remains the question of the impact of partial oil removal from distillers grains plus solubles on energy value as a feedstuff for finishing beef cattle. Performance and digestion experiments were performed comparing four treatments, including a full-fat distillers grains treatment, a partial oil removal distillers grains treatment referred to as "de-oiled", a treatment with corn oil added to de-oiled distillers grains, and a dry-rolled corn control. Including modified distillers grains improved feed efficiency by 6 to 11% across treatments when compared to feeding dry-rolled corn. Adding 2% corn oil to de-oiled distillers grains improved efficiency by 4.9% compared to feeding de-oiled distillers grains. Adding distillers grains regardless of treatment type improved the digestible energy consumed by the animal despite decreasing organic matter digestibility. Fiber digestibility improved with diets containing distillers grains, but was slightly hindered when oil was added as an ingredient. The impact of feeding de-oiled distillers grains with 8.9% fat was negligible in terms of cattle performance compared to full-fat distillers grains with 11.6% fat in diets containing 40% distillers grains on a DM basis. Two experiments evaluated the impact of the reduction in the percentage of corn oil remaining in distillers grains plus solubles (DGS) after the ethanol plant de-oiling process or by adding corn oil back to DGS following de-oiling on finishing cattle performance and nutrient digestion. Experiment 1 utilized 320 yearling steers (initial BW = 413 kg; SD = 25 kg) fed in 32 pens (10 steers/pen) and assigned to one of four treatments (n = 8 pens/treatment). The four treatments consisted of a blended DRC:HMC corn control diet (CON), de-oiled modified distillers grains plus solubles included at 40% of diet DM (DODGS), de-oiled modified distillers grains plus solubles included at 38% of diet DM plus 2% added corn oil (DODGS + Oil), and full-fat modified distillers grains plus solubles included at 40% of diet DM (FFDGS). The DODGS product contained 8.9% fat while the FFDGS product contained 11.6% fat. Dry matter intake (DMI) was impacted by treatment (p = 0.01) with steers fed DODGS having the greatest DMI and steers fed CON, DODGS + Oil, and FFDGS having lower DMI. Dietary treatment tended to impact ADG (p = 0.06) with steers fed DODGS and DODGS + Oil having greater gains than CON, with FFDGS being an intermediate. As a result of increased ADG, G:F differed between treatments (p < 0.01) with the greatest feed efficiency observed for steers fed DODGS + Oil and FFDGS. Including MDGS in the diet improved G:F by 6 to 11% compared to feeding DRC:HMC corn blend, with an improvement in G:F of 4.9 and 1.2% for DODGS + Oil and FFDGS, respectively, compared to DODGS. Hot carcass weight was impacted by dietary treatment (HCW; p = 0.05), with DODGS- and DODGS + Oil-fed steers having the heaviest HCW, CON steers having the lightest HCW, and FFDGS being an intermediate. Experiment 2 was a 5 × 4 unbalanced Latin rectangle digestion experiment with four diets, five ruminally cannulated steers, and five periods that utilized the same treatments as Exp. 1. Dietary fat measured 4.2, 6.0, 7.9, and 7.1% for CON, DODGS, DODGS + Oil, and FFDGS, respectively. Intakes of DM, OM, and energy as well as total tract fat digestibility and DE (Mcal/d) were not impacted by dietary treatment (p ≥ 0.46). When corn oil was added back to de-oiled MDGS, there was a negative impact on digestibility of OM (p < 0.01) and NDF (p = 0.07) compared with DODGS, FFDGS, and CON. Partially removing oil from modified distillers grains plus solubles did not significantly impact cattle performance, carcass traits, energy content, or digestibility when MDGS was included at approximately 40% of diet DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental feed may be provided to cattle in grazing systems to increase ADG, but can be labor intensive. This study evaluated the performance of steers grazing smooth bromegrass pastures supplemented dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) either daily or three times per week. Crossbred steers (n = 144, initial BW 317 ± 1.25 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design with 3 treatments allocated randomly to 24 paddocks in one of 6 blocks. Treatments consisted of: 1) steers supplemented daily with 0.8% of BW (DM-basis) of DDGS, 2) steers supplemented three times a week with 1.86% of BW (DM-basis) of DDGS, and 3) steers that received no supplementation (control). All steers were implanted with 40 mg trenbolone acetate and 8 mg estradiol (Rev-G; Merck Animal Health, De Soto, KS) implants. Paddocks were divided equally into three strips and rotationally grazed. Put-and-take steers were utilized to match stocking rate with forage growth. Each treatment group rotated through three 0.81-hectare strips per pasture. Pre-graze and post-graze biomass was measured at ground level from each paddock at each rotation. Pre-graze biomass samples were used to determine forage availability. Grazing was initiated in early May with cattle removed from pastures in August, for a total of 97 grazing days. Data were analyzed with MIXED procedure of SAS with paddock as experimental unit and treatment and block as fixed effects. Treatment means of ADG and ending BW differed (P < 0.01) among treatments. The control calves gained 0.85 kg/d. The supplemented treatments significantly increased (P < 0.01) ADG compared with the control, with daily supplementation gaining 1.25 kg/d and 3x gaining 1.11 kg/d. The ADG was decreased (P < 0.01) with 3x a week compared with daily supplementation. The differences in ADG resulted in similar differences in final live BW. The control had a finial live BW of 398 kg and final live BW of both supplemented treatments was significantly increased (P < 0.01) when compared with the control treatment. Final live BW of 3x supplemented steers (423 kg) was decreased (P < 0.01) when compared with daily supplemented steers (436 kg). For steers grazing smooth bromegrass pastures, daily supplementation of DDGS resulted in greater gains and therefore greater final BW when compared with three times a week supplementation and the non-supplemented control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calf-fed Holstein steers (n = 115; 449 ± 20 kg) were utilized in a serial harvest experiment. A baseline group of five steers was harvested after 226 d on feed (DOF), which was designated day 0. The remaining cattle were assigned randomly to 11 harvest groups, with slaughter every 28 d. Cattle were either not (CON) or were fed zilpaterol hydrochloride for 20 d followed by a 3 d withdrawal (ZH). There were five steers per treatment in each slaughter group ranging from days 28 to 308. Whole carcasses were divided into lean, bone, internal cavity, hide, and fat trim components. Apparent mineral retention (Ca, P, Mg, K, and S) within the body was calculated as the difference between mineral concentration at slaughter and day 0. Mineral concentration at day 0 was determined from body composition of steers harvested at day 0 multiplied by individual live body weight (BW) at day 0. All data were analyzed as a 2 × 11 factorial arrangement with individual animal as the experimental unit. Orthogonal contrasts were used to analyze linear and quadratic contrasts over time (11 slaughter dates). There were no differences in concentration of Ca, P, and Mg in bone tissue as feeding duration increased (P ≥ 0.89); concentration of K, Mg, and S in lean tissue did fluctuate across DOF (P < 0.01). Averaged across treatment and DOF, 99% of Ca, 92% of P, 78% of Mg, and 23% of S present in the body were in bone tissue; 67% of K and 49% of S were in lean tissue. Expressed as gram per day, apparent retention of all minerals decreased linearly across DOF (P < 0.01). Expressed relative to empty body weight (EBW) gain, apparent Ca, P, and K retention decreased linearly as BW increased (P < 0.01) whereas Mg and S increased linearly (P < 0.01). Apparent retention of Ca was greater for CON cattle (greater bone fraction) and apparent retention of K was greater for ZH cattle (greater muscle fraction) when expressed relative to EBW gain (P ≤ 0.02), demonstrating the increase in lean gain by ZH cattle. There were no differences in apparent retention of Ca, P, Mg, K, or S due to treatment (P ≥ 0.14) or time (P ≥ 0.11) when expressed relative to protein gain. Apparent retention averaged 14.4 g Ca, 7.5 g P, 0.45 g Mg, 1.3 g K, and 1.0 g S/100 g protein gain. Expressing apparent mineral retention on a protein gain basis minimized effects of rate and type of gain, allowing for better comparison across treatments and time. Feeding zilpaterol hydrochloride did not affect apparent mineral retention when expressed relative to protein gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pooled analysis was performed to evaluate whether corn silage fed at 15% or 45% of diet DM impacted liver abscesses prevalence at slaughter in five previous experiments. Cattle fed 15% corn silage had 7.8% abscessed livers compared to 4.1% for cattle fed 45% corn silage when all diets contained tylosin. While improved due to increased corn silage inclusion, the objective of the current finishing study was to determine the impact of silage inclusion in finishing diets with and without tylosin on performance and incidence of abscessed livers in beef cattle. A total of 640 (BW = 334 ± 25 kg) steers were used in a generalized randomized block design with a 2 × 2 factorial treatment design. Treatments included two concentrations of corn silage (15% and 45% of diet DM), with or without tylosin for liver abscesses. This study used 32 pens of cattle with 20 steers per pen and 8 pens per treatment. There was a tendency for an interaction for feed efficiency (G:F; P = 0.10) where cattle fed 15% corn silage had a 2% increase in G:F when tylosin was added to the diet, but no improvements in G:F were observed when tylosin was added to diets containing 45% silage. There was an interaction between silage and tylosin inclusion for abscessed livers (P = 0.05). Cattle fed 15% corn silage without tylosin had the greatest incidence of abscessed livers (34.5%) compared to other treatments (P = 0.05), and the incidence of abscessed livers was decreased to 19% if tylosin was fed with 15% corn silage. Feeding 45% silage was effective at lowering the incidence of abscessed livers (P = 0.05) which was 12.4%, regardless of whether tylosin was fed. Feeding corn silage at 45% of diet DM (77.5% concentrate) was as effective as feeding tylosin to cattle on a 92.5% concentrate diet. Feeding corn silage at greater inclusions decreased daily gain (P ≤ 0.01) but increased final body weight when fed to an equal fatness (cattle fed 45% CS were fed 28 d longer). Feeding corn silage at 45% was more economical compared to feeding 15% corn silage, especially as corn prices increase, provided shrink is well managed. Feeding elevated concentrations of corn silage may be an economically viable method to reduce incidence of liver abscesses without antibiotic use for smaller operations that can manage more corn silage in finishing diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted over 2 yr to measure performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of weaned calves from two cow-calf production systems. Crossbred steers and heifers (n = 270, initial body weight (BW) = 207 kg, SD = 35) were used in a randomized complete block design, with treatments applied to the cow-calf system. Treatments were: 1) a traditional system consisting of April to June calving with smooth bromegrass pasture and grazed corn residue as forage resources (TRAD); 2) an alternative system consisting of July to September calving utilizing partial-drylot feeding, summer-planted oats, and corn residue grazing (ALT). Calves from both production systems were weaned at the same age and grown (diet NEg = 1.05 Mcal kg–1) for approximately 117 d. The calves then transitioned to a high-grain finishing diet (year 1: NEg = 1.32 Mcal kg–1; year 2: NEg = 1.39 Mcal kg–1) and fed to a targeted 1.52 cm backfat. Growth performance in the grower phase resulted in greater (P < 0.01) average daily gain (1.39 vs. 1.22 ± 0.02 kg), greater gain:feed (P < 0.01; 0.157 vs. 0.137 ± 0.003) for ALT calves compared to TRAD calves, However, a lower initial BW (P < 0.01; 185 vs. 229 ± 4.9 kg) resulted in a lower ending BW (P < 0.01; 347 vs. 371 ± 2.9 kg) for ALT calves compared to TRAD calves in spite of improved growth performance. In the finisher phase, ALT calves gained less (1.52 vs. 1.81 ± 0.218 kg; P = 0.02), were less efficient (0.139 vs. 173 ± 0.0151; P = 0.01) but exhibited similar hot carcass weights (HCW) (388 vs. 381 ± 3.8 kg; P = 0.14) compared to TRAD calves. Each pen of calves was put into a large pen-scale chamber that continuously measured carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) for 5 d during the grower and finisher phases. The average CH4 and CO2 production per unit of feed intake was used to calculate total GHG emissions over the entire grower and finisher phase. Overall, there were no differences (P ≥ 0.17) between treatments for CH4 per day and per kilogram dry matter intake (DMI). However, ALT calves tended to produce less (P ≤ 0.10) CO2 per day and per kilogram DMI than TRAD calves. Overall, methane emissions were greater in ALT calves (110.7 vs. 92.2 ± 8.3 g CH4 kg–1 HCW; P = 0.04) than TRAD calves. The ALT calves required 27 additional days on feed to market, which resulted in more total CH4 per animal across the entire feeding period (P = 0.02) than TRAD calves. Production systems that reduce days to market to achieve similar HCW may reduce GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crossbred, calf-fed steers (n = 480; initial body weight = 292 ± 19 kg) were used in a randomized block design finishing experiment with a 2 × 3 arrangement of treatments to evaluate the impact of constant inclusion or decreasing inclusion of modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS) with high-quality or low-quality roughage on finishing cattle performance. Dietary treatments included two roughage sources to provide similar neutral detergent fiber (NDF) from forage (6% corn stalks versus 12% corn silage DM basis) in three diets containing 0, 15, or decreasing inclusion of distillers (30, 15, then 0% across the feeding period). A total of 48 (10 steers/pen) pens were used with 8 pens/treatment. There was an interaction (P = 0.04) between roughage source and MDGS inclusion for dry matter intake (DMI). Cattle fed stalks with decreasing inclusions of MDGS (30-0%) had greater DMI than those fed silage as roughage source, but at 0% inclusion of MDGS there was no difference between roughage sources. No other significant interactions were observed, so main effects will be presented. Cattle fed the diet with 0% MDGS inclusion had reduced (P < 0.05) hot carcass weight (HCW), DMI, average daily gain (ADG), and 12th rib fat, and poorer G:F compared with cattle fed diets where MDGS was at 15% inclusion continuously or when MDGS decreased from 30% to 0%. For the treatment where MDGS was decreased from 30% to 0%, performance differed from that of cattle fed 15% distillers continuously. Cattle fed decreasing inclusions of MDGS (30-0%) had less (P < 0.01) DMI, ADG and tended (P = 0.07) to have lighter HCW. But G:F was not (P = 0.25) affected compared with when distillers was fed at 15% continuously. Marbling score was impacted by distillers inclusion (P = 0.03), where cattle fed 15% MDGS had greater (P = 0.01) marbling score than 0% inclusion and tended (P = 0.06) to be greater than cattle fed 30-0% MDGS. Even though there are differences in marbling score across treatments, all three treatments were within the choice grade and reflect ADG differences across treatments. Cattle fed silage consumed less, gained the same, and had greater G:F (P < 0.01). Based on numerically less HCW, ADG, and poorer G:F, these data suggest that feeding 6% corn stalks did not produce similar performance as feeding 12% corn silage. These data suggest that feeding 15% distillers was not enough to offset decreased quality roughage (stalks) compared with silage as roughage which contradicts previous studies when 30% distillers were fed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2-year study conducted at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead, Nebraska determined the effects of backgrounding rate of gain and implanting during the winter or summer phases on animal performance and carcass traits. The study design was a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement with the factors of winter gain (0.45 or 0.90 kg/d; LG and HG, respectively) and three implant strategies. The implant strategies included a 36 mg zeranol (Ralgro; Merck Animal Health, De Soto, KS) implant during the winter phase and 40 mg trenbolone acetate and 8 mg estradiol (Revalor-G; Merck Animal Health) implant during the summer phase (STRNG), no implant during the winter phase and Rev-G during the summer phase (MED), and no implant during the winter or summer phases (NONE). The study used 240 (initial BW = 247 kg, SD = 5.9 kg YR 1; BW = 255 kg, SD = 10.9 kg YR 2) weaned steers each year that were fed one of two backgrounding diets consisting of bromegrass hay and 10% MDGS (LG) or 30% MDGS (HG). Steers were backgrounded in the feedlot for a 148-day winter phase followed by a 56-day summer phase where they grazed smooth bromegrass paddocks. Upon arrival in the feedlot for the finishing phase, steers received 200 mg TBA and 40 mg estradiol (Revalor-XS; Merck Animal Health) and were fed a common diet for the entire finishing phase. In the winter phase, steers fed the HG diet had a greater ADG, ending BW, DMI, and improved G:F over steers fed LG (P < 0.01). Steers that received a Ralgro implant during the winter phase (STRNG) were observed to have an 13% improved ADG (P < 0.01), a 10% increase in G:F (P < 0.01), and an additional 14 kg of BW for the winter phase. There were no interactions between the rate of gain and implant strategy (P = 0.15) during the winter period. In the summer, HG steers had maintained greater ending BW than LG, although LG steers had greater ADG than HG (0.70 and 0.53 kg, respectively; P < 0.01) due to compensatory gain. Steers assigned to HG during the winter phase had a greater IBW for the finishing phase. Steers fed HG during the winter and administered an implant at both backgrounding phases (STRNG) had the greatest HCW with no differences in ADG or G:F during the finishing phase. Combining a strong implant program and an increased rate of gain during winter backgrounding resulted in 34 kg of additional HCW at marketing. Implant strategy and rate of gain during the winter growing period had additive effects to increase animal performance through all phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A metabolism experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of daily feeding of encapsulated Megasphaera elsdenii (M. elsdenii) NCIMB 41125 along with a one-time dose of Lactipro NXT (MS Biotec) on dry matter intake (DMI), rumen pH, in vitro lactate disappearance, volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration, and lactate concentration. Ruminally cannulated crossbred steers (n = 40, initial BW 437 ± 98 kg) were individually fed a finisher diet consisting of 70% steam-flaked corn, 18% modified distillers grain plus soluble, and 7% alfalfa hay. Treatments were control (Con) steers which were given no M. elsdenii and four treatments that received LactiproNXT on day 1 and were given 0 (Drench), 1×106 (Low), 1×107 (Medium), or 1×108 (High) CFU of encapsulated M. elsdenii daily throughout the experiment fed as a top-dress. Adaptation to the finishing diet was accomplished in 19 days for Con steers and 9 days for steers in the Drench, Low, Medium, and High treatments. The experiment included five continuous periods: step-up (d 1-19); finishing (d 20-88); feed restriction (d 89, 24-h full feed restriction); challenge (d 90, cattle were fed at 150% of max DMI from finishing period); and recovery (d 91-94). Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with linear and quadratic effects of dose with drench as the intercept. There were no significant differences for DMI in the step-up, finishing, or challenge period. In the recovery period, DMI was greater for Low, Med, and High compared with Drench (P = 0.07) and there was a tendency for a linear increase in DMI with increasing the dose of M. elsdenii (P = 0.11). Recovery period DMI, expressed as a percentage of pre-challenge intake, was greater (P = 0.05) in steers fed M. elsdenii daily compared with Drench steers, and increased linearly (P = 0.06) as dose of M. elsdenii increased. Rumen pH in steers fed M. elsdenii daily was greater (P < 0.01) during the feeding period and tended to be greater during the challenge (P = 0.14) and recovery (P = 0.11) periods when compared with the Drench treatment. In vitro lactate disappearance tended to be greater (P = 0.13) in steers given M. elsdenii daily when compared with Con and Drench on d 88. For days 90, 91, and 92 combined, a treatment effect was observed for in vitro lactate disappearance with steers in the Low, Med, and High treatments having greater (P < 0.05) disappearance than Con steers, and Med steers having greater (P < 0.05) disappearance than all other treatments. An accelerated step up is possible with the drench and daily feeding of M. elsdenii. Daily feeding of M. elsdenii has a positive effect on cattle during and after an acidosis challenge event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacter bacteria are foodbome pathogens that can colonize the gut of food animals. Limited in their ability to ferment sugars, Campylobacter can derive energy for growth via amino acid catabolism. The objectives of the present studies were to test whether supplemental distillers grains containing high amounts of rumen-undegradable intake protein or supplemental lasalocid may, by promoting amino acid flow to the lower bovine gut, increase intestinal carriage of Campylobacter. In study one, 10 steers (5 per treatment) were adapted to diets formulated to achieve 0 or 30% dried distillers grains. After an initial 14-day adaptation to the basal diet, control and treated steers were fed their respective diets for 23 days, after which time they were fed supplemental lasalocid for an additional 8 days, followed by a 5-day withdrawal. In study two, 24 steers preacclimated to a basal diet were adapted via 3-day periodic increases to dietary treatments formulated to achieve 0, 30, or 60% wet com distillers grains with solubles. Analysis of Campylobacter bacteria cultured from duodenal and fecal samples in study one and from fecal samples in study two revealed no effect of dried distillers grains or wet com distillers grains with solubles on the prevalence or concentrations of duodenal or fecal Campylobacter. The results from study one indicated that colonized steers, regardless of treatment, harbored higher Campylobacter concentrations when transitioned to the basal diet than when coming off pasture. Campylobacter carriage was unaffected by lasalocid. These results provide no evidence that feeding distdlers grams high in rumen-undegradable intake protein or supplemental lasalocid contributes to increased intestinal carriage of Campylobacter in fed cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]