Industry Info

Trace Minerals Improve Semen Quality

Scott Laudert, PhD http://beefmagazine.com

Fresh and frozen sperm quality was enhanced in bulls fed an organic trace mineral supplement compared to bulls fed a more traditional inorganic mineral supplement.

Mature Angus and Balancer bulls were fed zinc, copper, cobalt and manganese from inorganic and organic sources by University of Arkansas researchers. These minerals are most commonly fed to livestock as inorganic molecules of sulfates or carbonates. More recently, however, organic sources (complexes of a mineral and an amino acid or carbohydrate) are more often being utilized, due to improved bioavailability.

The inorganic diet contained only the test trace minerals from inorganic sources, while the organic diet contained trace minerals from both organic and inorganic mineral sources. The organic portion was supplied by Availa-4® from Zinpro Corporation. All other ration ingredients were identical for the two treatment groups.

Bulls were fed the supplemental trace minerals from mid May to September. Because sperm production in bulls requires 60 days, weekly semen collection began in mid July and continued for nine weeks via electro-ejaculation. Samples were evaluated for motility, either fresh or following a freeze-thaw procedure, by computer-assisted sperm analysis.

Fresh-semen sperm motility was increased from 55.2% to 69.1% in the bulls fed the organic trace mineral supplement. Frozen-semen sperm motility also increased at zero and two hours post-thawing.

Natural vs. Conventional Beef

With the exception of price, there’s little to no difference between conventionally raised and natural beef, University of Arkansas researchers report.

Beef ribeye rolls were purchased from five naturally-raised, brandedbeef programs and two commodity beef suppliers. The natural-fed beef requirements were an all-vegetarian diet, no implants, and no dietary antibiotics. The conventionally raised beef was produced according to FDA and USDA guidelines.

Ribeye steaks from both production types were evaluated for pH; moisture; intramuscular fat; color; Warner-Bratzler shear force; cooking loss; consumer panel evaluation including flavor, juiciness, tenderness, texture and overall acceptability; and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid content.

All measured traits were similar between conventional and natural beef steaks with the exceptions of higher cooking loss and greater taste panel-rated juiciness for the conventional beef.

The results show consumers can’t distinguish natural beef from conventionally raised beef based solely on palatability. Variations in the fresh and cooked attributes were greater among brands than production type. Beef is beef, no matter how it’s raised.

Distillers Grains Feeding Loss

Feeding dry distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) in bunks compared to feeding on the ground reduced pasture feeding waste by 36-41%.

University of Nebraska researchers evaluated feeding DDGS in meal form as received directly from the ethanol plant to yearling steers grazing subirrigated meadow pastures in feed bunks vs. on the ground. The steers were fed 3.5 lbs. DDGS/head/3X/week. The ground-fed steers were fed in a different location within the pasture at each feeding. Bunks were not moved within the pastures for the duration of the study.

The steers fed in bunks had greater daily gain, 1.2 vs. 0.9 lbs./day, with the difference in gain being equivalent to the ground-fed steers being unable to consume 0.85 lb. of DDGS due to ground wastage at each feeding. At $200/ton for DDGS, the cost of ground wastage in animal performance would be about 8.5¢/steer/day. This value can be used to determine the breakeven cost to purchase feed bunks.

Is Chicken Helping Out Beef Prices?

Troy Marshall, BEEF Contributing Editor http://beefmagazine.com

It sounds like an oxymoron but the poultry industry may actually help beef prices rise this next year. The fact is that the high price of ethanol-based corn has hit the poultry industry much harder than the beef industry. Cattle have options to grain; poultry don't.

For instance, Tyson recently reported a 54% drop in quarterly profits due to higher feed costs. And, projections are for poultry production to decline by 4% next year, as that industry adjusts to higher corn prices. In fact, Tyson's feed cost in 2011 increased by $675 million compared to last fiscal year, which puts its feed costs at over $4.5 billion next year. Tyson's poultry division also saw a profitability swing of more than $200 million on a year-to-year comparison for this last quarter!

The good news is that the total meat protein supply is expected to decline by 2-3% in 2012. Despite the astronomical increases in feed prices, Tyson and others are still expecting to remain profitable, if not as profitable as previously, as prices move higher as a result of tighter supplies.

The market continues to be powered by declining supplies and increasing export demand. If we can ever get the domestic market to respond, we should be on really good footing. With December 2012 corn hitting new recent lows and coming in at $5.50/bu., there is good reason for price optimism in 2012 beyond the first quarter.