Strategic supplementation to improve beef cattle performance and expand utilization of pasture-based production systems
| dc.contributor.author | Appleyard, Daphne | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Wittenberg, Karin (Animal Science) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | McGeough, Emma (Animal Science) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Cattani, Doug (Plant Science) | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Ominski, Kimberly | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-09-11T21:01:08Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-09-11T21:01:08Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-08-22 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2023-08-23T00:47:32Z | en_US |
| dc.date.submitted | 2023-09-11T03:18:07Z | en_US |
| dc.degree.discipline | Animal Science | en_US |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Science (M.Sc.) | |
| dc.description.abstract | This project was conducted to examine the effects of supplement intake and variation when delivered using a precision feeding system on forage intake and cattle performance when grazing stockpiled perennial forages in early spring and late fall/early winter in Manitoba. In trial 1, 32 Angus-Shorthorn cross steers (391.8 ± 19.5 kg) were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: 1) orchardgrass/alfalfa with supplementation (OA-S; n=8), 2) orchardgrass/alfalfa without supplementation (OA-NS; n=8), 3) tall fescue/alfalfa/cicer milkvetch with supplementation (TAC-S; n=8) and 4) tall fescue/alfalfa/cicer milkvetch without supplementation (TAC-NS; n=8) over a 32-d period in early spring. Supplemented steers were offered 3.2 kg hd-1 d-1 of a grain screening pellet delivered by the SmartFeed Pro system. Forage dry matter intake (DMI) did not differ between treatments (P>0.05), suggesting no substitution of forage for supplement occurred. On average, supplement intake was below targeted allotment (1.7 kg hd-1 d-1), with between- and within-animal coefficient of variation (CV) ranging from 32 to 153%. Although serum urea nitrogen (SUN) concentrations did not differ between treatments, average daily gain (ADG) was significantly greater for OA-S than OA-NS by d 32. In trial 2, 32 Angus-Simmental cross bred heifers (402.5 ± 30.7 kg), selected based on confirmed pregnancy and adaptation to SmartFeed Pro systems, were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: 1) non-supplemented (NS; n=16) and 2) supplemented (S; n=16); with target supplement intake of 2.2 kg hd-1 d-1 for two consecutive 21-d periods in late fall/early winter. Forage DMI did not differ (P>0.05) between NS and S treatments and supplement DMI averaged 2.1 kg hd-1 d-1 with between- and within-animal CV values that were < 35%. Significantly higher ADG and SUN levels were observed for S heifers compared to NS. Further, methane (CH4) emissions did not differ, however S heifers emitted significantly more carbon dioxide (CO2) than NS heifers as a consequence of increased ADG. In summary, these findings suggest that precision feeding systems can effectively deliver supplement on pasture, however, adaptation to the feeders in confinement and day-to-day monitoring of the system is essential to ensure the targeted allotment of supplement is consumed. | |
| dc.description.note | October 2023 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/37637 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.rights | open access | en_US |
| dc.subject | Spring grazing | |
| dc.subject | Beef cattle | |
| dc.subject | Supplementation on pasture | |
| dc.subject | Supplement intake variation | |
| dc.subject | Precision feeder | |
| dc.subject | SmartFeed Pro | |
| dc.subject | Stockpile grazing | |
| dc.subject | Stockpiled perennial forage | |
| dc.subject | Extended grazing | |
| dc.title | Strategic supplementation to improve beef cattle performance and expand utilization of pasture-based production systems | |
| dc.type | master thesis | en_US |
| local.subject.manitoba | yes |