Effects of Cottonseed Meal Supplementation on Calf Performance and Forage Utilization Grazing Late Season Summer Forage.

Nutritive quality of perennial warm-season grasses during summer may limit the DMI of growing calves due to low protein and increased NDF content. Cottonseed meal (CSM) supplementation may improve forage utilization by increasing rumen degradable protein, but research in calves is limited. It was hypothesized that supplementation of CSM to heifers grazing mature forage would have improved performance due to greater forage DMI and fiber digestibility. Objectives were to compare the effects of CSM supplementation on calf gain performance, estimated forage intake, and in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) and neutral detergent digestibility (IVNDFD) of low-quality, warm-season forage. Angus heifers (n = 18) weighing 232.7 ± 12.6 kg were blocked by BW (light, medium, and heavy) and allocated to 6 paddocks (1.64 ha) of W.W. B-Dahl Bluestem (Bothriochloa bladhii) for 67 d. Heifers were supplemented daily with a mineral mix and either no cottonseed meal (CON) or 454 g/animal of CSM (CSM1) in a RCBD with a 2×3 factorial arrangement of treatments and BW blocks, respectively. Initial and final shrunk BW was measured to calculate total gain, ADG, and percent of BW gained. Forage samples were collected weekly and composited into 3 periods for chemical analysis and in vitro incubations. Forage DMI was estimated using a double sampling technique for each paddock within period. Forage IVTD and IVNDFD were analyzed using batch fermentation with and without CSM in a CRD (2 treatments by 3 periods). Mean forage CP during periods 1 and 2 were 5.75% and increased to 10.3% in period 3 (P < 0.01). Forage NDF content increased over time (64.1 vs. 69.3%; P < 0.01) and estimated forage DMI of heifers tended (P = 0.07) to decrease from 2.9 to 2.1% of BW. Treatment did not affect estimated forage DMI (P = 0.40). Heifers receiving CSM1 gained 28.3% more BW than heifers receiving CON (47.27 vs. 36.82 kg, respectively; P = 0.02). Percent of BW gained was greater for heifers receiving CSM1 than CON (16.9 vs. 13.8% of initial BW, respectively, P = 0.029). There were no treatment by period interactions on IVTD or IVNDFD. The IVTD of forage from period 1 was greater than periods 2 and 3 (49.9 vs. 47.1 and 46.6%, respectively; P = 0.005). The IVTD of forage incubated with CSM tended (P = 0.06) to be greater than forage without CSM (52.1% vs. 47.8%, respectively). The IVNDFD was not affected by period but tended to be greater with CSM inclusion (P = 0.09) relative to CON (24.83% vs. 18.95%, respectively). In conclusion, 454 g/d of CSM supplemented to heifers grazing latesummer W. W. B-Dahl Bluestem forage likely provided sufficient protein to alter ruminal fiber digestibility, without affecting forage intake, and had measurable effects on gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]