Fall weaned Angus calves grazed stockpiled 1) tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), 2) tall fescue-red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), or 3) tall fescue-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) or were barn-fed, 4) tall fescue hay, 5) orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.)-alfalfa hay, or 6) tall fescue silage from late October to early April during each of 5 yr. Infection of the fescue with Acremonium coenophialum ranged from 0 to 55%. There were two replications each of steers and heifers for each forage system in a completely random design. Each replicate was grazed by three Angus stockers, except for System 1, which was grazed by six stockers, for a total of 420 stockers. Each pasture replicate contained .8 ha (except System 1, which was 1.6 ha), and the stocking rate was one stocker per .27 ha. Fescue hay and silage were harvested each spring for barn-fed systems from the area stockpiled for grazing by cattle in System 1. Nitrogen fertilizer (90 kg/ha) was applied in early spring and again in early August, before stockpiling; no N was applied to stockpiled fescue grown with legumes. Daily gains by calves grazing stockpiled fescue-alfalfa were greater (P less than .01) than by calves grazing stockpiled fescue-red clover or N-fertilized stockpiled fescue (.50, .33, and .34 kg/d, respectively), but fescue-alfalfa calves required more days (P less than .01) of supplemental hay feeding (105, 60, and 36, respectively). Calves fed fescue hay in the barn gained more (P less than .01) than those fed fescue silage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Effects of management system, ewe breed, sex, and legume grazing on cooking and sensory characteristics and shear force of lamb meat were estimated from data collected on animals produced in three management systems. System 1 lambs were born in late fall and fed to slaughter on a concentrate diet. System 2 lambs were born in January and February and grazed pure stands of alfalfa or ladino clover after weaning. System 3 lambs were born in March and April and remained with their dams on native bluegrass-white clover pasture throughout the grazing season. Lambs were progeny of either 1/2-Suffolk, 1/2-Rambouillet ewes or 1/2-Suffolk, 1/4-Finnsheep, 1/4-Rambouillet or Dorset ewes and were sired by Suffolk rams. Lambs were slaughtered at 50 (females) to 55 kg (males). One-half of the males in System 1 were left intact; all males in Systems 2 and 3 were castrated. Mean age at slaughter was 156, 204, and 234 d for lambs in Systems 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Cooked weight of loin chops averaged 68.5% of uncooked weight and did not differ among systems. Shear force was greatest for System 1 lambs and least for System 3 lambs in yr 1, but systems did not differ in shear performance in yr 2. System differences in tenderness favored System 3 lambs. Although mean flavor intensity was least for System 2 lambs, the frequency of high-intensity, potentially objectionable flavors was highest for these lambs and especially for those grazing alfalfa. In general, however, sensory characteristics did not differ greatly among production systems, and correlation analysis revealed little potential to use carcass traits to predict meat characteristics.

Three groups of 96 crossbred gilts were weaned at 4 to 5 wk of age (average initial weight, 7.2 kg) and assigned to four dietary treatments in a 2 X 2 factorial arrangement of treatments (ad libitum vs 75% ad libitum and 100 vs 150% of NRC daily Ca and P). The effects of dietary treatments on the gait characteristics of gilts were analyzed by 16-mm motion picture photography. At approximately 50 and 100 kg body weight (periods 1 and 2, respectively), pigs were photographed walking on a treadmill, and gait characteristics were measured from the motion picture film. Ad libitum-fed gilts were longer, taller, wider and deeper when compared with restricted-fed gilts on an equal age basis, but not when compared on an equal weight basis. Other side view and rear view measurements were inconsistently affected by energy level (ad libitum vs restricted) at the two time periods, and all measurements were unaffected by Ca and P level. Analysis of the side and rear view characteristics over time generally revealed undesirable changes (P less than .01) from 59 to 100 kg. Both left and right hock-joint deviation increased (P less than .01) from period 1 to period 2, when expressed on an equal weight basis, suggesting the development of joint weakness. The hind pastern angle and the angle at the hock-joint also increased with time (P less than .01), suggesting development of post-leggedness as pigs increased in age and weight. Correlation coefficients among the various photographic characteristics and structural soundness scores were generally very low. Long-term effects of the dietary treatments on structural development are under study.

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