Steers from 3 frame sizes were raised from birth to slaughter under different feed regimens including raised on the range to 18 months of age, raised on the range along with complementary forages to 18 months of age, and raised on the range to 18 months of age with subsequent concentrate feeding for 66 days. Quality grade, marbling, rib-eye area, fat thickness, and intramuscular fat were significantly higher for grain fed animals than for the grazing animals. There were no significant differences in overall palatability traits for grazing steers and grain fed steers. Small-frame steers gained less per day but had higher finish at comparable ages and period of treatment than large-frame steers. Acceptable primal cuts can be produced from grazing alone but the quality grade is higher for grain-fed animals. It was concluded that future beef production may use far more range and forage because of higher grain prices and an increasing demand for leaner meat by the consumer. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.