An innovative in-field cattle finishing system for the tropics

Abstract

An innovative cattle finishing program was tested in which beef cattle were fed on mature zones of standing corn crop in a regulated manner. The corn crop was planted at weekly intervals in a continual rotation year round. When the first planting of corn reached the early dent stage of maturity, nine beef steers (average beginning weight 234.8 ± 7.55* kg) were put in the field inside movable cattle pens. The cattle pens were only large enough to provide one full day of feed and were moved into fresh corn twice a day. The cattle were also provided protein and mineral supplements to balance the corn diet. The test results show that after the initial learning period of a few weeks, cattle consumed practically all the corn ears and about 70 percent of available corn stover. The performance of these steers was compared with that of a control group of nine steers that were fed standard feedlot diet. When feed availability was adequate, there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in the rate of weight gain between the infield corn-fed animals and the control animals. The test demonstrated that beef cattle could be fed standing field corn for at least three-quarters of the feeding period without affecting the meat quality as measured by rib eye area, fat content, texture and color of lean, and quality grade. All the steers had liver flukes at the time of slaughter and were apparently infected before the start of the experiment. The rate of weight gain and the feed conversion efficiency of both groups of cattle were poorer than normal, possibly because of liver fluke infestation. The results of this test should, therefore, be taken as suggestive rather than definitive. No other major health or disease problem was observed during the in-field corn feeding period.