Impact of Feeding a Corn Hybrid Containing Alpha Amylase in Finishing Cattle Diets on Performance and Carcass Characteristics

Previous research feeding a corn hybrid containing an alpha amylase enzyme (Enogen, Syngenta, LLC; ENOG) has resulted in improved G:F in some studies, but not in all situations. Improvements (1% to 16%) in G:F have been variable and commonly observed when fed as dry-rolled corn (DRC). Therefore, two finishing trials were conducted to evaluate feeding ENOG or a near isoline negative control (CON) on steer performance and carcass characteristics in a larger study with 30 treatment replications. Experiment 1 was conducted at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center located near Mead, NE, and utilized 300 calf-fed steers (319 kg; S.D. = 19.5 kg) with 10 steers per pen and 15 replications per treatment. Steers were blocked by d 0 BW, stratified by BW within block, and assigned randomly to 1 of 30 pens. Dietary treatments were ENOG or CON fed as dry-rolled corn at 66% inclusion with 18% modified distillers grains, 12% corn silage, and 4% supplement. Experiment 2 was conducted at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center located near Scottsbluff, NE, and utilized 300 calf-fed steers (283 kg; S.D. = ± 15.4 kg) and was designed similarly to Exp. 1. Data from both trials were combined and analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS as a generalized randomized block design. Steers were blocked by BW within location with pen as the experimental unit and the effect of location and treatment included in the model. No significant differences in final BW, DMI, ADG, or G:F were observed for cattle fed ENOG compared to CON (P ≥ 0.17). Although not significant (P = 0.17), a numerical improvement in G:F was observed for cattle fed ENOG (0.173) compared to CON (0.171) as the result of a slight numerical decrease in DMI (P = 0.19). Fat depth and calculated YG were greater (P < 0.01 and P = 0.02, respectively) for steers fed ENOG compared to CON. Longissimus muscle area was slightly greater (P = 0.02) for steers fed CON compared to ENOG. No differences in HCW (P = 0.88) or marbling score (P = 0.33) were observed between the two treatments. In these two studies, feeding ENOG containing an alpha amylase enzyme trait only numerically improved feed efficiency.