The effects of plane of nutrition and slaughter weight on performance and carcass composition of beef cattle

Extract

Current consumer demand for leaner beef necessitates a reduction in the fat content of a major proportion of beef carcasses. Recent studies have shown that a greater reduction in carcass fat content can be achieved when plane of nutrition is reduced by reducing the quantity of food given rather than reducing the energy content of a diet given ad litibum. An experiment lias been carried out to examine the effects of restricting food intake during the finishing period on the performance and carcass composition of beef cattle.

Two hundred and ten 12 month old Friesian (F), Limousen x F and Belgian Blue x F bulls, steers and heifers, which had been reared under uniform management and nutrition were used. They were purchased directly from dairy farms between mid October and mid December, at approximately two weeks of age, were artificially reared and were put to pasture from late April until early October.