Recent trial work Finishing Steer Cattle Comparison of Molasses based total mixed diet and silage plus concentrates for finishing steer cattle. Trial Design Summary of Results Summary and Conclusions Trial design Time period: November 1998 – March 1999 The fifty finishing steer cattle used for the trial were bred from beef cows using Charolais, Limousin and MRI bulls. Twenty five animals were allocated to breed, age and weight to each of treatments A and B. Treatment A: Total mixed diet to appetite with fresh allowance twice daily. Barley Straw 20.7% Molasses 22.6% Concentrate 56.7% Treatment B: Grass Silage to appetite plus 5.0kg of beef ration in two feeds of 2.5kg.

Summary of Results   DIET A Molasses based DIET B Concentrates + Silage Silage   Adlib Concentrate 8.7 5kg Molasses 3.5   Straw 2.6   Initial Weight 534 540 Final Weight 652 621 Daily Gain kg 1.18 0.76 Kill Out 54.42 54.66 Carcase Weight 356 338 Feed Conversion Efficiency 11.35 13.81 Fat Colour ++   Meat Juiciness ++   Margin over feed silage cost included £52.15 £61.41 Margin over feed silage cost not included £52.15 £45.57

Summary and Conclusions Consumers of beef are becoming more demanding in their required standards. Apart from safety aspects, there is more emphasis on aspects such as colour tenderness and flavour. It is not unlikely that these attributes will command a premium price Recent expansion in suckler herds is resulting in greater availability of good quality continental cattle for finishing. These animals have the ability to respond to high density diets. The reported trial used good continental steers that were slaughtered shortly after the end of their 22 month retention period. The total mixed diet based on molasses , chopped straw and concentrate balancer proved very attractive in terms of ease of handling, animal acceptability and performance. Required quantities can be prepared in the diet feeder ( with knives) up to two weeks in advance by either the farmer or contractor The high concentrate feeding regime that included 3.5kg Molasses and 8.7kg of concentrate balancer per day gave no digestive upsets and much higher performance than the silage based diet. The relatively high molasses inclusion with the straw chopped during mixing gives a well bonded diet mixture that cannot separate easily at feeding time. Due to the high nutrient density, it is advisable to slowly build up the daily feed allowance to full appetite. The high feeding regime induced positive features in meat quality in terms of reduced yellowness ( more whiteness) and increased juiciness. This approach to finishing could have applications for feeding heifers for the Italian market demanding whiter fat, and pinker meat. When a land charge of £100 per acre is allocated to silage the non-silage diet is more profitable to the tune of £7 per head. It is evident that all of the margins over feed are quite poor. These margins include 22 month and slaughter premia, but not extensification. If farmers are to undertake finishing cattle to specified targets, incentives in the form of bonus payments will be required.

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