Summary The aim of the study was to determine the effect of feeding a low and high level of microalgae (MA, high in C22:6n‐3) on the fatty acid (FA) composition and sensory attributes of beef. Thirty Charolais cross Limousin/Friesian heifers were fed one of the three diets (n = 10 per treatment): Control (no MA), low MA (LMA; inclusion rate of 15 g kg−1) or high MA (HMA; inclusion rate of 30 g kg−1) for 95 days before slaughter. Heifers fed HMA had a higher (P < 0.05) content of C20:5n‐3: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and C22:6n‐3: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the longissimus thoracis muscle than those receiving the Control (mean values for EPA of 0.5, 0.92, 1.20 and DHA of 0.31, 0.89 and 1.05 % of total FA for Control, LMA and HMA, respectively), and a lower n‐3 to n‐6 ratio (2.9, 1.9 and 1.6 in Control, LMA and HMA, respectively; P < 0.001). Steaks from animals fed either of the MA diets had a marginally higher (P < 0.05) ‘seaweedy flavour’ that was positively correlated with muscle C22:6n‐3 concentration. Steaks from animals fed HMA were rated as being higher (P < 0.05) in tenderness and had a lower (P < 0.05) shear force than those from Control fed animals. It is concluded that feeding microalgae at high levels can beneficially improve the health attributes of beef with only a few effects on sensory quality.

Artificial rearing is a common practice for rearing calves from the dairy herd destined for beef production or as replacements for the dairy or suckler herds. One of the major expenses with calf rearing is the cost of the milk. Hence emphasis is placed on early weaning of the calf at 5-7 weeks old and encouraging concentrate intake. With increasing consumer concern over the use of antibiotics in feed, there is greater focus on the use of probiotics or yeast cultures to enhance calf performance. Yeast culture is a fermentation product resulting from the inoculation of grains with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its growth media. This yeast culture mash is incubated and dried in a manner that preserves all the metabolites and the fermenting activity of the yeast. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feeding a yeast culture (YC) on the performance of early-weaned beef calves.

Since feed accounts for 75-85% of the variable costs of beef production, the use of alternative feeds and high-energy forages that have a lower cost per unit of energy are worthy of investigation. The technique of harvesting cereals where the whole-crop is harvested at a dry matter (DM) content of 650-750g/kg with the harvester fitted with a grain processor has recently been developed. The objective of this trial was to determine the effect of feeding either adlibitum processed urea treated whole-crop wheat (Alkalage) or cereals on the performance of Continental cross beef cattle since there is no data on the performance of beef cattle fed Alkalage.

Provision of a balanced supply of fermentable metabolisable energy (FME) and effective rumen degradable protein to rumen microbes enables maximum utilisation of energy and protein in dairy cow diets. Cane molasses containing a high proportion of water soluble carbohydrates can be very effective source of FME in dairy cow diets. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of molasses and fishmeal in the concentrate component of the diet, on the performance of lactating dairy cows.

Cereal fed Holstein bulls weighing 280kg were reared through to slaughter at Harper Adams University College on rations containing 12%, 14% and 16% crude protein (as fed).Overall the bulls recorded performance that either achieved or exceeded recognised targets for cereal beef production, recording DLWG's of 1.32-1.34kg to slaughter weights of 542-557kg at 13.4-13.8 months oldThere were no significant differences in DLWG, carcase daily gain, slaughter weight or carcase weight between the treatments. It is noted that highest the slaughter and carcase weights were achieved by the bulls fed the 12% ration however this was not statistically significant.The bulls reared on the 12% diet recorded the highest margin over feed costs and highest gross margin per bull. Reducing the protein content of the ration from 16% to 12% increased the gross margin per bull by 10.2% (£7.60 per bull).From the experiment it can be concluded that increasing the protein content of the ration above 12% for 280kg bulls does not improve physical or financial performance. Effect of dietary crude protein level on the performance of cereal fedHolstein bulls