Table 4.

Effects of feed additives [monensin (MON; 30 mg/kg dry matter) or virginiamycin (VM; 25 mg/kg dry matter)] on ruminal fermentation characteristics of finishing steers fed flint whole shelled corn-based diets—Exp. 2

Item	Feed additives		SEM1	P-value
	MON	VM
Ruminal pH	5.78	5.83	0.08	0.68
Ruminal ammonia nitrogen, mg/dL	12.4	10.6	1.20	0.32
Total volatile fatty acids, mM	135	142	2.91	0.15
Acetate, mM	69.4	70.9	2.67	0.70
Propionate, mM	40.3	42.3	2.63	0.60
Isobutyrate, mM	1.45	1.71	0.15	0.24
Butyrate, mM	17.3	20.7	2.32	0.33
Valerate, mM	2.86	3.53	0.43	0.31
Isovalerate, mM	4.99	4.21	0.29	0.09
Acetate:propionate ratio	1.88	1.78	0.14	0.65

¹SEM = standard error of mean.