Making Moolah on the Macro-level: Impact of Lysoforte on Feedlot Cattle Performance and Carcass Characteristics
Category: Research Poster
Author(s): Zachary Araujo-Lovato
Presenter(s): Zachary Araujo-Lovato
Mentors(s): Terry Engle
Four hundred eighty crossbred Angus steers were ranked by body weight (BW) and randomly assigned to one of two experiments designed to evaluate the effects of Lysoforte supplementation with or without added dietary fat. Experiment 1 included 240 steers and two dietary treatments: 1) a control diet containing no added fat and no Lysoforte, and 2) the same control diet supplemented with Lysoforte at 4.25 g head−1 day−1. Experiment 2 also used 240 steers and consisted of two treatments: 1) a control diet containing 1.75% added tallow and no Lysoforte, and 2) the same diet containing 1.75% added tallow supplemented with Lysoforte at 6.0 g head−1 day−1. In both experiments, cattle were fed a steam-flaked corn based diet formulated with the appropriate treatment and delivered daily to allow ad libitum access to feed across a 24 hour period. Steers were housed in feedlot pens containing 15 steers per pen with eight replicate pens per treatment within each experiment. Body weights and feed refusals were recorded every 28 days throughout the feeding period. When steers reached a finished BW of approximately 695 kg, after about 150 days on feed, equal numbers of pens from each treatment were transported to a USDA inspected commercial abattoir where cattle were harvested and carcass measurements were collected. In Experiment 1, Lysoforte supplementation had no measurable effect on live animal performance or carcass characteristics. In Experiment 2, initial and final BW and feed efficiency were similar between treatments; however, steers receiving Lysoforte had greater overall ADG.