Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T22:06:19.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Grazing lucerne as fattening management for young bulls: technical and economic performance and diet authentication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2010

M. Blanco ,
M. Joy ,
G. Ripoll ,
H. Sauerwein  and
I. Casasús
M. Blanco*
Affiliation:
Unidad de Tecnología en Producción Animal, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria – Gobierno de Aragón, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
M. Joy
Affiliation:
Unidad de Tecnología en Producción Animal, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria – Gobierno de Aragón, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
G. Ripoll
Affiliation:
Unidad de Tecnología en Producción Animal, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria – Gobierno de Aragón, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
H. Sauerwein
Affiliation:
Physiology and Hygiene Unit, Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 7-9, 53115 Bonn, Germany
I. Casasús
Affiliation:
Unidad de Tecnología en Producción Animal, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria – Gobierno de Aragón, Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Three fattening systems were evaluated from weaning to slaughter in order to find alternatives to grain feeding in young bulls, and to test the reliability of carcass subcutaneous fat colour to discriminate among them. After weaning (224 kg), one group of animals was fed concentrates and straw until they reached the target slaughter weight (450 kg; Feedlot), another group grazed rotationally on lucerne supplemented with 1.8 kg DM/day barley until slaughter (LUC), and the third group had the same management as LUC animals for 3 months (period 1) and thereafter was finished on concentrates and straw until slaughter (period 2; LUC + Feedlot). Animals were weighed weekly and sampled monthly for serum IGF-I and leptin, and plasma non-esterified fatty acids and carotenoid pigment concentration analyses. Carcass characteristics and subcutaneous fat colour were recorded after slaughter. In period 1, Feedlot animals had slightly greater weight gains than their grazing counterparts (P < 0.10), and at the end of period 1 they had 66% greater IGF-I and 35% greater leptin concentration (P < 0.01). Plasma carotenoid pigments were undetectable in Feedlot animals, but increased during grazing in LUC and LUC + Feedlot treatments. In period 2, weight gains were lowest for LUC, intermediate for Feedlot and greatest for LUC + Feedlot animals (P < 0.001), conditioning the time taken to reach slaughter weight (73, 58 and 47 days, respectively; P < 0.05). Leptin and IGF-I concentrations increased in all management systems during period 2. Plasma carotenoid pigment concentration reached its maximum at the end of period 2 in LUC animals, but it decreased sharply in LUC + Feedlot animals in this period. Management did not affect carcass traits except for subcutaneous fat colour. Yellowness, Chroma (C*) and the value of the integral of the translated reflectance spectrum (SUM), estimator of carotenoid pigment content in fat, were higher in LUC than in LUC + Feedlot and Feedlot animals (P < 0.001). Two logistic regressions were obtained to discriminate carcasses from LUC treatment: P (LUC) = (1 + e18.8–5.6 × lightness–36.9 × redness + 0.3 × SUM + 29.8 × C*)−1 and LUC + Feedlot treatment: P (LUC + Feedlot)=(1 + e833.7–11.8 × lightness + 4.7 × redness + 0.2 × SUM−2.5 × C*)−1. The economic margin, calculated as income achieved minus costs, was greatest for LUC, intermediate for LUC + Feedlot and lowest for Feedlot treatment. Therefore, grazing lucerne supplemented with barley was an interesting alternative for fattening young bulls in these conditions, producing carcasses of similar quality, which could be accurately traced by measuring subcutaneous fat colour.

Keywords

concentratesgrazing lucernehormonesyoung bullsdiet authentication
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 113 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AOAC 1999. Official methods of the association of official analytical chemists, 16th edn, AOAC International, MD, USA.Google Scholar
Bellmann, O, Wegner, J, Rehfeldt, C, Teuscher, F, Schneider, F, Voigt, J, Derno, M, Sauerwein, H, Weingartner, J, Ender, K 2004. Beef versus dairy cattle: a comparison of metabolically relevant hormones, enzymes, and metabolites. Livestock Production Science 89, 41–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernués, A, Olaizola, A, Corcoran, K 2003. Labelling information demanded by European consumers and relationships with purchasing motives, quality and safety of meat. Meat Science 95, 1095–1106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berthiaume, R, Mandell, I, Faucitano, L, Lafreniere, C 2006. Comparison of alternative beef production systems based on forage finishing or grain-forage diets with or without growth promotants: 1. Feedlot performance, carcass quality, and production costs. Journal of Animal Science 84, 2168–2177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bidner, TD, Schupp, AR, Montgomery, RE, Carpenter, JC Jr 1981. Acceptability of beef finished on all-forage, forage-plus-grain or high energy diets. Journal of Animal Science 53, 1181–1187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanco, M, Casasús, I, Ripoll, G, Panea, B, Albertí, P, Joy, M 2010a. Lucerne grazing compared with concentrate-feeding slightly modifies carcase and meat quality of young bulls. Meat Science 84, 545–552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanco, M, Casasús, I, Villalba, D 2010b. A spline polynomial model to describe serum IGF-I concentration from birth to slaughter in calves: effects of weaning age, pre-weaning concentrate feeding and breed. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 38, 157–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chilliard, Y, Delavaud, C, Bonnet, M 2005. Leptin expression in ruminants: nutritional and physiological regulations in relation with energy metabolism. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 29, 3–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chilliard, Y, Bocquier, F, Delavaud, C, Faulconnier, Y, Bonnet, M, Guerre Millo, M, Martin, P, Ferlay, A 1999. La leptine chez le ruminant. Facteurs de variation physiologiques et nutritionnels. INRA Productions Animales 12, 225–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dian, PHM, Andueza, D, Barbosa, CMP, Amoureux, S, Jestin, M, Carvalho, PCF, Prado, IN, Prache, S 2007. Methodological developments in the use of visible reflectance spectroscopy for discriminating pasture-fed from concentrate-fed lamb carcasses. Animal 1, 1198–1208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Delgado, I, Muñoz, F, Joy, M 2004. Determinación de la curva de crecimiento de la alfalfa. In: Pastos y ganadería extensiva. XLIV Reunion Cientifica de la Sociedad Española para el Estudio de los Pastos (SEEP), Salamanca, 10–14 de abril de 2004, 439–444.Google Scholar
Drouillard, JS, Kuhl, GL 1999. Effects of previous grazing nutrition and management on feedlot performance of cattle. Journal of Animal Science 77 (suppl. 2), 136–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellenberger, MA, Johnson, DE, Carstens, GE, Hossner, KL, Holland, MD, Nett, TM, Nockels, CF 1989. Endocrine and metabolic changes during altered growth rates in beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science 67, 1446–1454.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) 2009. The State of the Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2009 – livestock in the balance. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome (Italy), pp. 176.Google Scholar
Geary, TW, McFadin, EL, MacNeil, MD, Grings, EE, Short, RE, Funston, RN, Keisler, DH 2003. Leptin as a predictor of carcass composition in beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science 81, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hornick, JL, Van Eenaeme, C, Diez, M, Minet, V, Istasse, L 1998. Different periods of feed restriction before compensatory growth in Belgian Blue bulls: II. Plasma metabolites and hormones. Journal of Animal Science 76, 260–271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hornick, JL, Van Eenaeme, C, Gérard, O, Dufrasne, I, Istasse, L 2000. Mechanisms of reduced and compensatory growth. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 19, 121–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knight, TW, Death, AF, Lambert, MG, McDougall, DB 2001. The rate of reduction in carotenoid pigments concentration in fat of steers fed a low carotenoid pigments ration, and the role of increasing carcass fatness. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 1023–1032.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lauriault, LM, Kirksey, RE, Donart, GB, Sawyer, JE, VanLeeuwen, DM 2005. Pasture and stocker cattle performance on furrow-irrigated alfalfa and tall wheatgrass pastures, southern high plains, USA. Crop Science 45, 305–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, HG, Hong, ZS, Kim, MK, Kang, SK, Xu, CX, Cho, JS, Seo, KS, Rho, SG, Choi, YJ 2006. The response of plasma leptin and feed intake to growth hormone administration in Holstein calves with different planes of nutrition. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 86, 225–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, JM, Klopfenstein, TJ, Pfeiffer, GA, Stock, RA 1990. An economic-evaluation of the differences between intensive and extensive beef-production systems. Journal of Animal Science 68, 2506–2516.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Majak, W, Hall, JW, McCaughey, WP 1995. Pasture management strategies for reducing the risk of legume bloat in cattle. Journal of Animal Science 73, 1493–1498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MARM (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Medio rural y Marino) 2009. Anuario de estadística agroalimentaria y pesquera 2007. Ed. Subsecretaría General Técnica, 937 pp.Google Scholar
McKinnon, JJ, Cohen, RDH, Jones, SDM, Laarveld, B, Christensen, DA 1993. The effects of dietary energy and crude protein concentration on growth and serum insulin-like growth factor-I levels of cattle that differ in mature body size. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 73, 303–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mertens, DR 1983. Using neutral detergent fiber to formulate dairy rations and estimate the net energy content of feeds. In Cornell nutrition conference for feed manufacturers, Syracuse, NY pp. 60–68, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Muir, PD, Deaker, JM, Bown, MD 1998a. Effects of forage- and grain-based feeding systems on beef quality: a review. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 41, 623–635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muir, PD, Smith, NB, Cruickshank, GJ, Smith, DR 1998b. The effect of short-term grain feeding on liveweight gain and beef quality. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 41, 517–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, HB, Stiles, DA, Boren, FW, Kilgore, GL, Bartley, EE, Helmer, LG 1971. Beef gains from Alfalfa vs. Brome-Bluestem pasture. Journal of Animal Science 33, 245 (Abstract).Google Scholar
Prache, S, Theriez, M 1999. Traceability of lamb production systems: carotenoid pigments in plasma and adipose tissue. Animal Science 69, 29–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prache, S, Priolo, A, Grolier, P 2003a. Persistence of carotenoid pigments in the blood of concentrate-finished grazing sheep: its significance for the traceability of grass-feeding. Journal of Animal Science 81, 360–367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prache, S, Priolo, A, Grolier, P 2003b. Effect of concentrate finishing on the carotenoid pigments content of perirenal fat in grazing sheep: its significance for discriminating grass-fed, concentrate-fed and concentrate-finished lambs. Animal Science 77, 225–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prache, S, Priolo, A, Tournadre, H, Jailler, R, Dubroeucq, H, Micol, D, Martin, B 2002. Traceability of grass-feeding by quantifying the signature of carotenoid pigments in herbivores meat, milk and cheese. In Multi-function grasslands: quality forages, animal products and landscapes (ed. JL Durand, JC Emile, C Huyghe and G Lemaire), pp. 592–593. Proceedings of the 19th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, La Rochelle, France, 27–30 May. AFPF, Versailles, France.Google Scholar
Ripoll, G, Joy, M, Muñoz, F, Albertí, P 2008. Meat and fat colour as a tool to trace grass-feeding systems in light lamb production. Meat Science 80, 239–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ronge, H, Blum, J 1989. Insulin-like growth factor I during growth in bulls. Reproduction Nutrition Development 29, 105–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sauerwein, H, Heintges, U, Hennies, M, Selhorst, T, Daxenberger, A 2004. Growth hormone induced alterations of leptin serum concentrations in dairy cows as measured by a novel enzyme immunoassay. Livestock Production Science 87, 189–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlegel, ML, Wachenheim, CJ, Benson, ME, Black, JR, Moline, WJ, Ritchie, HD, Schwab, GD, Rust, SR 2000. Grazing methods and stocking rates for direct-seeded alfalfa pastures: I. Plant productivity and animal performance. Journal of Animal Science 78, 2192–2201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Serrano, E, Prache, S, Chauveau-Duriot, B, Agabriel, J, Micol, D 2006. Traceability of grass-feeding in young beef using carotenoid pigments in plasma and adipose tissue. Animal Science 82, 909–918.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steen, RWJ, Lavery, NP, Kilpatrick, DJ, Porter, MG 2003. Effects of pasture and high-concentrate diets on the performance of beef cattle, carcass composition at equal growth rates, and the fatty acid composition of beef. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 46, 69–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Soest, PJ, Robertson, JB, Lewis, BA 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583–3597.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, A, Larsen, TW, Tume, RK 1992. Carotenoid pigments and retinol concentrations in serum, adipose tissue and liver and carotenoid pigments transport in sheep, goats and cattle. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 43, 1809–1817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar