Solúveis condensados de destilaria em suplementos para bovinos de corte terminados a pasto

Abstract

In livestock farming, the search for productive efficiency is a recurring challenge, with finishing being a challenging stage. Fattening is the moment when the animal needs to reach the appropriate weight and finish for slaughter, thus adding value to the production system.Faced with this scenario, the search for foods that are nutritionally good and at competitive prices becomes extremely important for a profitable activity. In this way, co-products can offer the livestock sector a great opportunity to reduce feed costs without harming animal performance. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the productive performance and quality of meat from pasturefinishing cattle in the dry-rainy transition period receiving supplements containing increasing levels of distiller's condensed solubles (CDS). The experiment was carried out at the Bragança Agronegócios farm in Lucas do Rio Verde, Mato Grosso between the months of August and November 2022. 80 Nelores animals were used, males, not castrated, with an initial age and average weight of 20 months and 480.07 ± 30.33, respectively. The experimental area consisted of sixteen paddocks of 1.5/ha each, formed by Xaraés grass. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design. Four levels of CDS inclusion in supplements were tested: 0% (control treatment); 6%; 12% and 18%. Supplement dry matter intake (DMI), crude protein intake (CPI) and NDF intake (NDFI) decreased linearly (P<0.05) as the level of CDS inclusion increased. On the other hand, the consumption of ether extract from the supplement (CEES) showed a quadratic effect (P<0.05), with a maximum point at 22.6% of CDS inclusion, with consumption of 0.483 kg/day. There was a quadratic effect for final body weight (BWW) and average daily gain (ADG) (P<0.05), with the highest weights at 8.14% and 8.03% of CDS inclusion respectively. There was a quadratic effect for average daily carcass gain (ADCG). There was no significant difference for gain per hectare (G/ha). Feed conversion (FC) and feed efficiency (FE) showed a linear effect (P<0.05), where they improved as the inclusion of CDS increased. For hot carcass weight (HCW), a quadratic effect was observed (P<0.05), with greater weight at 9.33% CDS inclusion. For meat quality, there was a significant effect only for cooking loss 0d (%), in which a quadratic effect was observed (P<0.05), with lower loss at 9.46% of CDS inclusion. The use of CDS in pasture-finished beef cattle diets improved production and carcass performance with better results of 9.33% inclusion and consumption of 0.434 kg/day of EE from the supplement. Therefore, it is important to analyze the total EE content in the diet, as its excess can affect the desired results.