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. 2023 Feb 9;101:skad003. doi: 10.1093/jas/skad003

NCCC308: Nutrition and Management of Feedlot Cattle to Optimize Performance, Carcass Value, and Environmental Compatibility – Feature Collection - Nutrition and Management of Finishing Cattle

Kendall C Swanson 1,✉, Alejandro E Relling 2, Alfredo DiCostanzo 3
PMCID: PMC9910393  PMID: 36757860

Graphical Abstract

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The NCCC308 Multistate Research Coordinating and Information Exchange Group currently consists of members from 18 Agricultural Experiment Stations with a long and strong history in conducting applied finishing cattle nutrition and management research and Extension. The committee has met yearly since 1982, typically at a University or research center, in May. The meeting has been an integral component of the professional development of the committee members allowing for sharing of current research results and ideas, touring of research and/or industry facilities, development of new collaborative research and Extension initiatives, and interacting and networking with committee members and other research, Extension, and industry personnel across North America. Over the lifetime of the NCCC308 committee, the finishing cattle industry has undergone significant change, including implementing several technological advances and a dramatic increase in corn production and corn byproduct availability. Over time, the committee’s research and Extension activities have greatly influenced the development and optimization of feeding and management strategies. These activities have contributed to increased productivity and efficiency of beef cattle in feedlots. For example, members of the committee have made significant research and Extension contributions on optimizing corn grain processing, use of corn wet and dry milling byproducts, development and testing of new growth-promoting technologies, and refinement of energy and nutrient requirement models. In recent years, the committee has broadened in scope with the addition of new members with expertise in not only applied finishing cattle feeding and management but also in emerging areas such as nutritional and management effects on the ruminal microbiome, nutrient/gene interactions, immunology, and environmental impact. Besides developing this featured collection for the journal, the committee also organized a symposium on the nutrition and management of feedlot cattle at the Midwest Animal Sciences meeting in Omaha in March of 2022.

The NCCC308 committee, representing most of the cattle-feeding states in the U.S., focuses on research and education efforts supporting the cattle feeding industry in the North Central Region and beyond. This featured collection titled “Nutrition and Management of Finishing Cattle” consists of manuscripts representing some of the current research being conducted within and across the research programs of the current committee members. The specific objectives (with representative manuscripts published in this collection) of the committee are to:

  1. Enhance the utilization of carbon from energy feeds to compete in an energy economy and improve national food security (Acharya et al., 2023; Coulson et al., 2023; Francis et al., 2023; Hamilton et al., 2023; Larson et al., 2023a and b; Tarnonsky et al., 2023a and b; Troyer et al., 2023; Wilson et al., 2023; Winders et al., 2023).

  2. To enhance the environmental sustainability of the feedlot industry through conservation and nutrient management (Carlson et al., 2023; Pittaluga et al., 2023).

  3. To enhance the production efficiency and quality of feedlot cattle through management strategies and technologies (Cooke et al., 2023; Jaborek et al., 2023a, b, and c; Nickles et al., 2023; Podversich et al., 2023; Waldon et al., 2023).

  4. To enhance management strategies that improve animal health and well-being (Beenken-Bobb et al., 2023; Dornbach et al., 2023; Gouvêa et al., 2023; Rients et al., 2023; Silva et al., 2023).

Contributor Information

Kendall C Swanson, Department of Animal Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA.

Alejandro E Relling, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA.

Alfredo DiCostanzo, Cuming County Extension, University of Nebraska, Westpoint, NE 68788-1848, USA.

LITERATURE CITED

  1. Acharya, S., Petzel E. A., Hales K. E., Underwood K. R., Swanson K. C., Bailey E. A., Cammack K. M., and Brake D. W.. . 2023. Effects of long-term postgastric infusion of casein or glutamic acid on small intestinal starch digestion and energy balance in cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac329. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac329 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beenken-Bobb, A. M., Dornbach C. W., Deters E. L., Shike D. W., Hansen S. L., and McCann J. C.. . 2023. Effects of injectable vitamin C at weaning and prior to transit on growth performance of early-weaned beef steers. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac307. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac307 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Carlson, Z. E., McPhillips L. J., Stowell R. R., Erickson G. E., and MacDonald J. C.. . 2023. Evaluation of growth performance, carcass characteristics, and methane and CO2 emissions of growing and finishing cattle raised in extensive or partial-intensive cow-calf production systems. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac368. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac368 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cooke, R. F., Colombo E. A., Mackey S. J., Pickett A. T., Batista L. F. D., Pohler K. G., de Souza O. A., Cappellozza B. I., and Brandão A. P.. . 2023. Productive and physiological responses of feedlot cattle receiving different sources of Ca salts of fatty acids in the finishing diet. J. Anim. Sci. 101: skac404. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac404 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Coulson, C. A., Boyd B. M., Troyer B. C., McPhillips L. J., Norman M. M., Woita N. M., Wilson H. C., Butterfield K. M., Spore T. J., and Erickson G. E.. . 2023. Impact of different corn milling methods for high-moisture and dry corn on finishing cattle performance, carcass characteristics, and nutrient digestion. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac385. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac385 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dornbach, C. W., Beenken A. M., Shike D. W., Hansen S. L., and McCann J. C.. . 2023. Effects of injectable vitamin E before or after transit on receiving phase growth performance, health, and blood parameters of beef steers. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac333. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac333 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Francis, F. L., Gubbels E. R., Hamilton T. G., Walker J. A., Rusche W. C., and Smith Z. K.. . 2023. Evaluation of the effects of corn silage maturity and kernel processing on steer growth performance and carcass traits. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac321. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac321 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gouvêa, V. N., Oliveira M. O., Giacomelli H. J. M., Colombo E. A., Batistel F., Duff G. C., Marques R. S., and Cooke R. F.. . 2023. Roughage level and supplemental fat for newly received feedlot calves: effects on growth performance, health, and physiological responses. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac322. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac322 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hamilton, T. G., Rusche W. C., and Smith Z. K.. . 2023. Evaluation of equal dietary roughage inclusion level fed to beef steers in a single or two-diet system during the backgrounding and finishing phase. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac288. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac288 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Jaborek, J. R., Carvalho P. H. V., and Felix T. L.. . 2023a. Feeding and managing dairy cattle genetics for beef production: A review. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac345. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac345 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Jaborek, J. R., Fluharty F. L., Lee K., Zerby H. N., Relling A. E.. . 2023b. Lipid metabolism mRNA expression and cellularity of intramuscular adipocytes within the Longissimus muscle of Angus- and Wagyu-sired cattle fed for a similar days on feed or body weight endpoint. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac371. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac371 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Jaborek, J. R., Fluharty F. L., Zerby H. N., and Relling A. E.. . 2023c. Growth performance, carcass characteristics, and fatty acid composition of Angus- and Wagyu-sired finishing cattle fed for a similar days on feed or body weight endpoint. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac343. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac343 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Larson, H. E., Crawford G. I., Cox R. B., and DiCostanzo A.. . 2023a. Effect of inclusion of distillers grains with solubles and crude glycerin in beef cattle finishing diets on ruminal fermentation and fatty acid biohydrogenation. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac347. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac347 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Larson, H. E., Jaderborg J. P., Paulus-Compart D. M., Crawford G. I., and DiCostanzo A.. . 2023b. Effect of substitution of distillers grains and glycerin for steam-flaked corn in finishing cattle diets on growth performance and carcass characteristics. 2022. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac348. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac348 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Nickles, K. R., Relling A. E., Garcia-Guerra A., Fluharty F. L., and Parker A. J.. . 2023. Effect of environmental stress on pregnant cows during the last third of gestation on offspring insulin and cortisol metabolism. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac332. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac332 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Pittaluga, A. M., Yang F., Gaffney J. R., Embree M., and Relling A. E.. . 2023. Effect of supplementation with ruminal probiotics on growth performance, carcass characteristics, plasma metabolites, methane emissions, and the associated rumen microbiome changes in beef cattle J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac308. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac308 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Podversich, F., Tarnonsky F., Bollatti J. M., Silva G. M., Schulmeister T. M., Vargas Martinez J. J., Heredia D., Ipharraguerre I. R., Bargo F., Gonella-Diaza A., Dubeux J. C. B. Jr, Ferraretto L. F., and DiLorenzo N.. . 2023. Effects of Aspergillus oryzae prebiotic on animal performance, nutrients digestibility, and feeding behavior of backgrounding beef heifers fed either a sorghum silage- or a byproducts-basal diet. J. Anim. Sci. 101:skac312. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac312 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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