Impact of including sprouted grains in the ration of beef cattle relative to animal performance, quality and nutritive value of meat, and economic via

The research objectives will be completed by conducting two different research trials at the Utah State University South Farm. In the first trial, 60 commercial Angus steers weighing approximately 700 pounds from the Utah State University beef herd will be stratified by weight into one of four different treatment groups: (1) inclusion of 40% (as-fed basis) sprouted barley in the ration, n=15; (2) inclusion of 60% (as-fed basis) sprouted barley in the ration, n=15; (3) inclusion of 80% (dry matter basis) sprouted barley in the ration n=15; and (4) conventional total mixed ration with a grain concentration of 85% (dry matter basis) in the final ration. The authors acknowledge that it is unorthodox to present rations on an as-fed basis, however preliminary research from our group as well as anecdotal information from producers leads us to hypothesize that when cattle are fed a feed that is as nutrient dense and has a high level of nutrient availability, such as sprouted barley, that the animals will not be required to consume as much dry matter and have similar or improved production parameters. As stated previously in the narrative, a recent research trial that was conducted at Utah State University investigated the effects of providing either feeder quality alfalfa hay or a diet that was half feeder quality hay and half sprouted barley (as-fed) to 20 cow-calf pairs (n=10 per treatment). The cows received their respective diets for a period of 90 days. Our research group is still in the final stages of analyzing the data, but preliminary results show that there was no difference (P=0.96) in cow weight throughout the trial. Nor was there a difference in calf weight (P=0.32). However, we believe it is important to note that the calves that were in the treatment group that received sprouted barley did have a numerically increased average daily gain (1.6 vs. 1.4 pounds). This preliminary data provides compelling evidence that the proposed research needs to be conducted to better understand the effects of including sprouted barley in the ration of beef cattle. These different treatments were chosen so that we would have a better idea of how three different inclusion levels of sprouted grain could be compared to a conventional total mixed ration to help produce a feeding guide for sprouted grains that can be shared with producers. Each of the treatment diets will be balanced to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous. In addition, we will balance for the animals on each diet to receive similar amount of feed on an as-fed basis. However, all animals will be fed ad libitum. All animals will be housed in pens that are each equipped with two GrowSafe bunks allowing for collection of individual animal intakes and feeding behavior. In this system, an RFID tag is placed in the ear of each animal and each time they place their head through the bars of the bunk, the GrowSafe unit records who that animal is and how long they are there, allowing for animals to be group housed while collecting individual feeding and feed behavior data. The trial will last approximately 120 days. Animals will be weighed on day 0 and every 30 days after. Additionally, ultrasound measurements and blood and rumen fluid will be collected by trained personnel at each weight date. Animals will remain on trial until they reach an industry standard average of 0.5 inches of backfat as measured by ultrasound, at which time they will be harvested at a commercial harvest facility. Commercial carcass data will be obtained for each animal as well as a sample from the aged steak of each loin to determine nutritive quality of the meat.