Is the fattening of cull cows worth while? Analysis of feeding regimen, meat quality and profitability

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the optimum feeding regimen for max imum weight gain, carcass characteristics and economic performance as well as meat quality of culled cows. The experimental design consisted of three groups of 15 Simmental cows each: The cows in group 1, the control group, w ere slaughtered immediately, group 2 was fed corn silage, hay (or straw) an d a protein concentrate; group 3's diet consisted of the same feedstuffs pl us 2 kg of corn. Daily dry matter intake from corn silage and daily weight gain were higher for group 2 than group 3 (10.9 kg and 9.7 kg, 1382 g and 1238 g respectivel y), although the difference in weight gain was not significant. In comparis on to group 1, dressing percentage was significantly improved by 3.8% and 4 .6% for groups 2 and 3, respectively. The meat of culled cows which were fa ttened prior to slaughter showed a significantly lower shearing force (45.8 N, 33.5 N, and 34.0 N for groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively). The same tren d was found in the organoleptic evaluation: juiciness, tenderness, flavour and total judgement were better for group 2 than for groups 1 and 3, with t he results for group 2 and 3 matching the requirements for premium quality beef It is concluded that fattening culled cows under a feeding regimen as represented by group 2 of this experiment significantly improves the most r elevant traits of carcass and meat quality. The economic evaluation for the fattening of culled cows showed positive results.