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Some Influences of Rumen Volatile Fatty Acids upon Carcass Composition and Performance in Growing and Fattening Steers^{1, 2,}

University of Wisconsin, Madison³

Abstract

Eighteen crossbred HerefordxHolstein steers were randomly assigned to treatment to investigate the influence of VFA levels on measurements of growth and carcass composition. Three pelleted diets with concentrate: roughage ratios of 0:10, 40:60 and 80:20 were the treatments chosen to produce variations in rumen acid levels.

All rumen acids studied except butyric were significantly (P<.01) different due to diet. Means for calculated daily digestible energy intake did not differ significantly for the three diets fed ad libitum, yet carcass fat and protein tended (P<.10) to vary among treatments. The A/P ratio had a simple correlation of –.75 with carcass fat. When carcass weight was held constant, the A/P ratio had a partial correlation of –.73 with fat. Standard partial regression coefficients indicated that the A/P ratio was 5.5 times and approximately 2.5 times as important in regression on fat as carcass weight and daily gain, respectively. Combining carcass weight and daily gain in regression analysis was associated with only 6% of the variance in fat. Grade, dressing percent (P<.01) and carcass weight (P<.05) were negatively associated with the A/P ratio. A negative correlation (P<.01) was also found between the A/P ratio and daily gain.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station.

² This investigation was partially supported by Public Health Research Grant RO1 AM 08647-01, from the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases.

³ Departments of Meat and Animal Science, Paper No. 445, and Dairy Science.