Comprehensive evaluation of growth performance and meat characteristics of a fattening system combining grazing with feeding rice whole‐crop silage in Japanese Black steers

Abstract

We investigated the effect of a system for fattening steers combining grazing with feeding rice whole‐crop silage (rWCS) on growth performance, meat characteristics, and the expression of genes involved in skeletal muscle growth. Steers were randomly assigned to grazing or concentrate‐fed groups (CT). The grazing group (GZ) was fed rWCS after grazing until 16 months of age. The final body weight was the same in the two groups, but the dressed weight was lower in the GZ than in the CT. The beef color standard was higher in the GZ than in the CT. Although beef marbling did not differ between the two groups, there was less intramuscular fat and subcutaneous fat in the GZ than in the CT. The α‐tocopherol and β‐carotene contents in the muscle were higher in the GZ than in the CT. The GZ showed a lower daily gain (DG) during the grazing period, which may have resulted from decelerating skeletal muscle growth caused by the increased expression of genes encoding myostatin and atrogin‐1. However, the DG and feed efficiency of the GZ increased after grazing. The two groups exhibited a similar level of beef productivity.

Comparison and analysis on sheep meat quality and flavor under pasture-based fattening contrast to intensive pasture-based feeding system

“…In this fattening study, lambs in the CON group presented higher LW and HCW than ones grazing on pasture in the same periods, followed by a higher DP, indicating that concentrate supplementary fattening in a sheep pen after pasture weaned exhibit a better meat production performancehigher growth rate. The result was consistent with the other similar researches about indoor fattening experiments [14] and also in accord with the result of pasture grazing steers, which may be less effective than other diets for beef production because of a decrease in daily gain and low productivity [15]. The difference in growth performance between the two finishing systems suggested that changes in the rearing environment and forage affected the growth performance profoundly.…”

Comparison of Pure and Crossbred Japanese Black Steers in Growth Performance and Metabolic Features from Birth to Slaughter at a Spanish Fattening Farm

“…These findings highlight the need to clarify how Wagyu steers perform under different production conditions, taking into account their growth, welfare, and health. For example, recent studies have explored how to rear Wagyu steers via grazing, even in Japan, in order to reduce costs [30,31].…”

Validation of a phenol‐sulfuric acid method in a microplate format for the quantification of soluble sugars in ruminant feeds

“…The effects of potential interference were also examined. Owing to the increasing research interest and extension to farmers in Japan, we examined the soluble sugars content in forage rice and ensiled total mixed ration (TMR) in particular (Kusa et al., 2018; Miyaji & Nonaka, 2018; Shibata et al., 2019; Tanno, 2020).…”