The Effect of Beef Production System on the Health, Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Meat Quality of Holstein Bulls

Rutherford, Naomi; Gordon, Alan; Arnott, Gareth; Lively, F. O.

doi:10.3390/ani10101922

Cited by 6 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The lighter carcass weight here, being a result of the younger age at slaughter. It was also reported that total concentrate intake did not differ between bulls that were housed or grazed with ad libitum concentrates ( 50 ). Furthermore, in both studies meat quality parameters were unaffected by ad libitum production system ( 50 , 51 ).…”

Section: Bull Beef Productionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…It was also reported that total concentrate intake did not differ between bulls that were housed or grazed with ad libitum concentrates ( 50 ). Furthermore, in both studies meat quality parameters were unaffected by ad libitum production system ( 50 , 51 ). Although the forage component of the diet differed, both production systems were heavily dependent on concentrates and thus the energy dense diet resulted in sufficient muscle and liver glycogen stores for anaerobic glycolysis to occur post-mortem ( 54 , 55 ).…”

Section: Bull Beef Productionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Supplementing concentrates at 95% of DMI from 3 months of age until slaughter has been shown to result in a mean LWG of 1.33 kg/d, with bulls reaching target slaughter weight (550 kgLW) at 14 months of age ( 6 ). Rutherford et al ( 50 ) offered housed autumn born Holstein bulls ad libitum concentrates from 6 months until slaughter at 15.5 months and achieved a mean LWG of 1.39 kg and carcass weight of 313.3 kg. These results are in agreement with previous ad libitum studies ( 49 , 51 ) and show the potential for bulls to achieve a high level of performance when offered an intensive diet.…”

Section: Bull Beef Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature has also explored the effect of ad libitum concentrates at grass. Rutherford et al ( 50 ) offered bulls ad libitum concentrates at grass during the summer followed by a housed ad libitum finishing period. This system resulted in a 1.44 kg/d LWG and 314.5 kg carcass weight at 15.5 months.…”

Section: Bull Beef Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One limitation of an ad libitum concentrate system, is that it often results in a high cost of production due to the high input nature of the diet. For example, total concentrate consumption from ad libitum production systems has been reported at 2.13 tDM ( 6 ) and 2.34 tDM ( 50 ) during the study period. This therefore creates a system that is subject to fluctuating concentrate prices and beef market volatility ( 34 ) and thus profit margins can vary substantially from year to year.…”

Section: Bull Beef Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

A Review of Beef Production Systems for the Sustainable Use of Surplus Male Dairy-Origin Calves Within the UK

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The UK dairy herd is predominantly of the Holstein-Friesian (HF) breed, with a major emphasis placed on milk yield. Subsequently, following years of continued single-trait selection, the beef production potential of dairy bred calves has declined. Thus, male HF calves are commonly seen as a by-product of the dairy industry. Limited markets, perceived low economic value and high rearing costs mean that these surplus calves are often euthanised shortly after birth or exported to the EU for further production. Welfare concerns have been raised regarding both euthanasia and long distance transportation of these calves. Furthermore, total UK beef consumption increased by 8.5% from 2009 to 2019. Thus, in light of this growing demand, beef from the dairy herd could be better utilized within the UK. Therefore, the potential for these calves to be used in a sustainable, cost-effective beef production system with high welfare standards within the UK requires investigation. Thus, the aim of this review was to evaluate both steer and bull beef production systems, examining the impact on performance, health, welfare, and economic potential to enable a sustainable farming practice, while meeting UK market requirements. The principal conclusions from this review indicate that there is the potential for these calves to be used in UK based production systems and meet market requirements. Of the steer production systems, a 24 month system appears to achieve a balance between input costs, growth from pasture and carcass output, albeit the literature is undecided on the optimum system. The situation is similar for bull beef production systems, high input systems do achieve the greatest gain in the shortest period of time, however, these systems are not sustainable in volatile markets with fluctuating concentrate prices. Thus, again the inclusion of a grazing period, may increase the resilience of these systems. Furthermore, production systems incorporating a period at pasture are seen to have animal welfare benefits. The main welfare concern for surplus dairy bred calves is often poor colostrum management at birth. While in steer systems, consideration needs to be given to welfare regarding castration, with the negative impacts being minimized by completing this procedure soon after birth.

show abstract

Section: Bull Beef Productionmentioning

confidence: 98%