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Utilization of high lipid byproduct pellet in the finishing diet of feedlot steers to improve carcass traits and reducing feed costs
Two studies were conducted to evaluate the rate and timing of provision of a high-lipid high-fiber byproduct pellet (HLP) as a partial replacement for barley grain in diets for feedlot cattle. In study 1, steers (n = 288; BW = 378.4 ± 0.50 kg) were randomly allocated to 1 of 24 pens and pens were assigned to 1 of 4 treatments. The study period was divided into 3 equal periods of 49 d each, namely P1, P2 and P3. A barley-based diet (CON; 75.2% barley grain, 9.8% canola meal, 9% mineral and vitamin, and 6% barley silage; DM basis) was compared to a diet where HLP replaced 60% of the barley grain and canola meal, relative to the CON. Steers received the HLP diet for 0 (CON147), 147 (HLP147), the last 98 (HLP98), or the last 49 d (HLP49). Steers fed CON had greater ADG (1.96 vs. 1.83 kg/d; P < 0.01), but DMI was not affected. The HLP147 had greatest DMI and least G:F during P1, but least DMI in P3 (Trt × Period; P < 0.01). Hot carcass weight of CON and HLP49 were the heaviest (P < 0.05) and HLP49 tended to have the greatest percentage of carcasses in yield grade 1 (P = 0.07). Carcass quality grade was not affected. In the second study, steers (n = 264; BW= 441.3 ± 0.19 kg) were randomly allocated to 1 of 24 pens and fed for 120 d. Diets were similar in composition to study 1 except that the HLP replaced 30% of the barley grain. Treatments included feeding steers the HLP diet for 0 (CON), 120 (HLP120), the last 60 (HLP60) and the last 60 d along with additional canola oil (HLP60CO). There were no differences for DMI and ADG (12.6 and 2.0 kg/d, respectively). The G:F for HLP120 was less than the other treatments (0.149 vs. 0.158; P = 0.001). Hot carcass weight was greater for CON and HLP60 than HLP120 and HLP60CO (386 vs. 377 kg). The HLP120 tended to have the greatest proportion (P= 0.06) of yield grade 1 with HLP60CO tending to be the lowest (62.5 vs. 37.9%). Carcass quality was not affected. Partially substituting barley grain with HLP in the second half of the finishing period may improve carcass yield grade without negatively affecting growth performance and feed efficiency relative to a barley-based diet.
Keywords: beef, byproduct, pellet, carcass