Sheppard, S. C., Bittman, S., Donohoe, G., Flaten, D., Wittenberg, K. M., Small, J. A., Berthiaume, R., McAllister, T. A., Beauchemin, K. A., McKinnon, J., Amiro, B. D., MacDonald, D., Mattos, F. and Ominski, K. H. 2015. Beef cattle husbandry practices across Ecoregions of Canada in 2011. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 305–321. Beef production in Canada is diverse in many dimensions with numbers of cattle per operation ranging over 10 000-fold, pasture usage from nil to 100%, and types of operations from solely cow–calf to exclusively feedlot finishing. This study summarizes management information obtained from a survey conducted in 2012 (about 2011) on 1009 beef operations in Canada. Many of the results clearly differentiate the practices in the Prairies from those in Ontario and Quebec. Compared to eastern Canada, the Prairies had earlier and shorter calving seasons, higher weaning weights, utilized more winter grazing with a variety of strategies, grew and fed more barley than corn, used more seasonal feeding areas and feedlots (and hence fewer barns), and more commonly spread manure in the fall. Many of the management practices used by cow–calf operations would have low environmental impact, including extensive use of grazing even in winter, low fertilizer inputs and feeding perennial forages with a high content of legumes. Some practices such as not covering forages or manure storage structures were common and could be changed to improve forage quality and reduce manure emissions. Most forage was harvested 3–7 d after full bloom. Earlier harvest has the potential to improve forage quality, which could reduce dependence on arable crops. Finishing operations used more housing, fed more arable-land crops and less perennial forages, and practiced little grazing. Rationale regarding the adoption of many of the management strategies was reported by the producers. For example, winter grazing was adopted primarily to reduce costs and labour, but for some it was also linked to a late calving season. Preferred sources of technical information included their own experience, farm print media, producer organisations and demonstrations at field days. The survey also identified several areas in which the industry may realize improved sustainability.

Berthiaume, R., Lafrenie`re, C., Girard, C., Campbell, C. P., Pivotto, L. M. and Mandell, I. B. 2015. Effects of forage silage species on yearling growth performance, carcass and meat quality, and nutrient composition in a forage based beef production system. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 173Á187. Forty weaned, crossbred beef calves (predominantly Angus and Simmental) were forage-finished using all-silage diets (red cloverÁtimothy versus tall fescue) to examine forage species' effects on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and nutrient composition. Weaned calves (257 d of age) were forage-finished using red cloverÁtimothy or tall fescue silage and harvested at approximately 1 yr of age. During carcass processing, one side from each carcass was covered with a polyliner to examine if reducing rates of chilling could compensate for limited fat cover expected from low dietary energy contents fed, and limited time on feed. Longissimus thoracis, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus steaks were aged 10, 14, and 21 d to examine effects on WarnerÁBratzler shear force values while fatty acid and vitamin B 12 composition were determined on 10-d-aged steaks. Average daily gain, feed efficiency, hot carcass weights, and longissimus muscle area were greater (P B0.03) when cattle were fed red cloverÁtimothy versus tall fescue silage, most likely due to the higher protein content of red cloverÁtimothy silage. Shear force was greater (PB0.002) in steaks from all muscles evaluated from cattle fed tall fescue versus red cloverÁtimothy silage. In comparison to 10-d-aged steaks, 14 d of ageing were needed to reduce (P B0.001) shear force for longissimus steaks, while 21 d of ageing were needed to reduce (PB0.001) shear force for semitendinosus steaks. Use of a polyliner decreased (P 00.0001) the rate of temperature decline at selected carcass sites, but did not reduce shear force values. The percent of n-3 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid ratio were greater (PB0.04) in longissimus from cattle fed red cloverÁ timothy versus feeding tall fescue silage. Feeding red cloverÁtimothy silage improved growth performance, carcass, shear force, and fatty acid composition traits versus feeding tall fescue silage.

Alfonso-Á vila, Á . R., Charbonneau, E., Lafrenie`re, C. and Berthiaume, R. 2015. Effect of glycerol in combination with alfalfa on in vitro gas production and microbial protein synthesis. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 577Á588. This study sought to determine the effect of added glycerol on microbial protein synthesis, ruminal degradation and utilization of alfalfa at different concentrations of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC), using in vitro gas production. The 2 )3 factorial plus one treatment consisted of oven-dried alfalfa with two NSC levels [high: 17.9 (HNSC) or low: 7.4% dry matter (DM) (LNSC)] and three glycerol treatments [control without glycerol, 15% crude glycerol (CG) and 15% pure glycerol (PG)], the additional treatment was LNSC'exogenous sugars (LNSC'ES: LNSC with 5% sucrose'5% starch). Five pre-planned contrasts were evaluated from the seven treatments: (1) HNSC vs. LNSC alfalfa; (2) with glycerol vs. without; (3) interaction of alfalfa and glycerol; (4) CG vs. PG, and; (5) LNSC'ES vs. HNSC. Gas production over 24 h was higher for HNSC than LNSC (202 vs. 179 mL g(1 DM) and with glycerol than without glycerol (202.2 vs. 168 mL g (1 DM). A decrease in the acetate:propionate ratio was observed for HNSC compared with LNSC (2.87 vs. 3.27) and for the addition of glycerol vs. no glycerol (2.78 vs. 3.65). Reduced microbial mass (185.5 vs. 240.5 mg g(1 DM) was observed for CG compared with PG. The LNSC'ES treatment had lower microbial protein synthesis and propionic acid production in relation to HNSC. No significant interaction was observed between the effect of NSC content of alfalfa and glycerol utilization. When effects were studied separately, results indicate that increasing NSC in alfalfa stimulates the synthesis of microbial protein. Also, the addition of glycerol promotes the synthesis of glucose precursors. Finally, the type of glycerol has an impact on results obtained suggesting caution when extrapolating results for PG to CG.

. 2015. Effects of dietary total non-structural carbohydrates and folic acid and vitamin B 12 supplement on growth and meat quality of yearling steers in a forage-based beef production system. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 281Á291. Thirty-two spring calving cows [760991 kg body weight (BW)] and calves (4494.5 kg BW) were assigned to eight blocks of four cows and their calves each according to parity and calving date. Within each block, two cows were fed a low total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC) diet, while the two others were fed a high TNC diet. Within each diet, cows were administered either no vitamins or weekly intramuscular injections of 160 mg of folic acid plus 10 mg of vitamin B 12 . Calves were slaughtered at 30599 d. Neither TNC concentration nor vitamin supplementation affected (P 0.10) milk yield but the vitamin supplementation increased (P 00.002) milk concentrations of vitamin B 12 . There was no treatment effect on calf performance, or carcass and meat characteristics (P0.10) except for collagen concentrations and shear force measurements in the longissimus lumborum muscle, which had a tendency to be decreased (P50.06) by the vitamin supplement. In the present study, differences in forage TNC concentrations did not influence cow and calf performance. Moreover, folic acid and vitamin B 12 supplements were shown to have little impact in this study on growth of beef cattle. Dans chaque bloc, 2 vaches ont rec¸u une die`te faible en glucides non structuraux totaux (TNC Á « total non-structural carbohydrates ») alors que les 2 autres ont rec¸u une die`te a`haute teneur en TNC. Pour chaque die`te, les vaches ont rec¸u soit des injections intramusculaires hebdomadaires de 160 mg d'acide folique et 10 mg de vitamine B 12 , ou pas. Les veaux ont e´te´abattus a`l'aˆge de 30599 jours. Ni la concentration de TNC ni le supple´ment vitaminique n'ont eu d'effet (P0,10) sur la production laitie`re, mais le supple´ment vitaminique a augmente( P00,002) la concentration de vitamine B 12 dans le lait. Il n'y a pas eu d'effet du traitement sur la croissance des bouvillons ni sur les caracte´ristiques de la carcasse et de la viande (P0,10), sauf une tendance vers une re´duction des concentrations de collage`ne et des mesures de la force de cisaillement du muscle longissimus lumborum (P 50,06) par le supple´ment vitaminique. Dans la pre´sente e´tude, les diffe´rences de concentrations de TNC dans les fourrages n'ont pas modifie´la performance des vaches et des veaux. De plus, le supple´ment d'acide folique et de vitamine B 12 n'a pas eu d'effet sur la croissance des bouvillons dans cette e´tude.