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The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate the use of functional oils (FO) mixture and Essential™, with and without ionophores on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics and economic analysis of cattle drylot finishing programs. The FO, natural products composed of cashew nut shell oil and castor oil, have been introduced into the United States because they are thought to offer similar benefits as ionophores without the drawbacks of being synthetic products. A two-trial study was conducted using 120 (322 ± 10 kg) Angus and Angus crossbred steer calves in each trial. Calves were weighed and assigned to five treatment groups by weight and color pattern, with four replications and six cattle per replication in each trial. Treatments were: control, no additives (CON); monensin, 223 mghd-l d-l (MON); monensin, 223 mghd-l d-l + functional oils, 250 mgkg-l DMI (MON+FL); functional oils low, 250 mgkg-l DMI (FL); and functional oils high, 500 mgkg-l DMI (FH). All steers were fed the same diet (0.29 Mcal of NEg/kg DM, 0.41 Mcal of NEm/kg DM) on an ad libitum basis. In the first trial, steers were fed on average for 169 days, and in the second trial, 161 days. The daily DMI was not affected by FO. The MON treatment improved cattle ADG and FE when compared with FL and FH treatments (P < 0.05). The FH treated cattle had a higher percentage of liver abscesses compared with the MON treatment cattle (P < 0.05) and cattle in other treatments. The FH cattle had the highest dressing percentages (DP) among treatments and differed from MON and FL (P < 0.05), but not from CON and MON+FL treatments (P > 0.05). The FH cattle had the largest REA and differed from MON (P < 0.05). However, BF thickness was not different among treatments (P > 0.05). Although, YG for all treatments were YG 2, MON+FL treatment cattle had the best cutability and differed from MON treatment cattle (P < 0.05), but not from CON, FL vii and FH treatments (P > 0.05). Quality grade was not different (P > 0.05) among treatments. The percentage of Choice and Prime carcasses, however, tended to increase with levels of FO in the diets. The FH cattle had the most Prime grade carcasses and differed from CON and MON+FL treatments (P < 0.05), but not from MON and FL treatments (P > 0.05). Using actual costs and prices, profitability was numerically highest for the MON+FL treatment cattle. The MON treatment cattle tended to have the lowest profitability. Carcass price provided the greatest impact on profitability, followed by feeder price and then corn price when using actual costs and prices. Plus and minus 5% sensitivity analyses for corn, feeder and fed cattle price followed the same trend. When using annual and seasonal price scenarios, profitability favored the FH treatment cattle, presumably a result of their higher percentage of Prime and Choice carcasses. From these results, it is suggested that steer calves provided FO in their diet showed tolerable and similar ADG and FE, and produced carcasses with acceptable and similar YG and QG. The use of F...

This report represents the first trial of a study consisting of a commercial mixture of functional oils (Essential, Oligo Basics USA LLC, Wilmington, DE) used alone and in combination with Monensin to evaluate the effects on steers performance when fed a high concentrate diet. One hundred and twenty steers, average initial weight 322 kg, were divided into five treatments with four pens per treatment and six steers per pen. The treatments were Control (C), Monensin (223 mg/hd/d) (M), Monensin (223 mg/hd/d) + Essential (250 mg/kg DMI) (ME), Essential Low (250 mg/kg DMI) (EL), and Essential High (500 mg/kg DMI) (EH). All steers were fed the same diet on an ad libitum basis, treatments M and EL for 172 days and treatments C, ME, and EH for 179 days. Steers were harvested at an average weight of 617 kg. Results to date suggest that cattle provided functional oils in their diet perform equally as well in the feedyard and in carcass composition as cattle provided a more traditional ionophore in their diet.

The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate the use of condensed corn distillers solubles (CCDS) mixed with chopped corn stalks on an intensive cool-season pasture and drylot growing-finishing program. A three-year study was conducted, using 112 Angus and Angus crossbred steer calves each year. Calves were weighed and assigned to four treatment groups by weight and color pattern, with four replications, and seven cattle per replication in each year. Treatments one (FEEDLOT) and two (F+CCDS) were fed in the feedlot from May until harvested. FEEDLOT included chopped alfalfa hay and corn, and F+CCDS included chopped corn stalks and CCDS. Treatment three (PASTURE) and four (P+CCDS) utilized rotational smooth bromegrass pasture grazing (May-September) with P+CCDS also receiving chopped corn stalks and CCDS. Following pasture, chopped alfalfa hay and corn for PASTURE treatment, and chopped corn stalks with CCDS for P+CCDS treatment were provided during the feedlot finishing period. Steers were weighed every 28 days, and daily feed intake was recorded to obtain feed consumption and feed conversion among the treatments during drylot feeding. The smooth bromegrass pasture consisted of 24 paddocks, each 0.69 ha in size. Cattle were fed to a average of 590 kg and harvested to obtain carcass measurements. Comparing FEEDLOT vs F+CCDS and PASTURE vs. P+CCDS, FEEDLOT and PASTURE cattle had greater daily DMI and ADG (P<0.05) than did cattle fed F+CCDS and P+CCDS, respectively. Feed conversion during the drylot feeding period favored FEEDLOT over F+CCDS and PASTURE over P+CCDS cattle (P<0.05), and overall FEEDLOT and F+CCDS over PASTURE and P+CCDS cattle (P<0.05). When cattle on PASTURE and P+CCDS treatments were removed from pasture, P+CCDS cattle had gained well over .23 kg/d better than PASTURE cattle. Though this vii advantage did not carry over into drylot feeding period, this might be a function of daily energy intake while on pasture. Average carcass weights and liver abscesses were not significantly different across the treatments, but differences were found among treatments (P<0.05) for ribeye area (REA), backfat thickness (BF) and kidney, pelvic and heart fat (KPH). The FEEDLOT cattle had larger REA compared with P+CCDS cattle. The BF was greatest in FEEDLOT cattle compared with cattle of the other treatments (P<0.05). A difference existed in quality grade for FEEDLOT vs P+CCDS cattle (P<0.05). However, overall treatment responses for quality grades were similar and within low Choice and Choice grades. The yield grade was not different among the treatments (P>0.05). Using actual costs, cattle fed F+CCDS were most profitable compared with cattle of other treatments (P<0.05). The FEEDLOT treatment was least profitable, and PASTURE and P+CCDS treatments were intermediate and not different from each other (P>0.05). From these results, we can conclude that substituting corn stalks with CCDS in a drylot finishing system is most profitable, furthermore, incorporating pasture into a feedlot finishing system with or witho...

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