Effects of a blend of live yeast and organic minerals as an alternative to monensin and inorganic trace minerals for beef cattle finished on pasture with high concentrate supplementation, on growth performance, intake, digestibility, liver trace mineral and carcass characteristics were evaluated. Forty-eight Nellore bulls were blocked by initial body weight and randomly assigned to one of the two experimental diets. The animals were raised in an experimental pasture divided into 12 paddocks equipped with an electronic system for monitoring individual feeding behavior and feed intake. Treatments were: (1) Monensin (MON), 30 mg/kg supplement dry matter of sodium monensin and trace minerals supplementation from inorganic sources; (2) AdvantageTM (ADV), 1.6 g/kg supplement DM of a blend of live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains) and organic trace minerals. The use of ADV instead of MON led to greater supplement intake and greater intake of dietary components. Bulls fed ADV also had higher digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and non-fiber carbohydrates. Bulls fed MON had a greater number of visits to the feeder, however with a shorter time spent feeding per visit. The use of ADV resulted in higher average daily weight gain, and feed efficiency was similar between treatments. In the carcass, ADV tended toward greater Longissimus muscle area. Liver Zn concentration tended to be lower in the ADV treatment. The use of ADV generated higher meat lightness and redness. In summary, the blend of live yeast and organic minerals can be an alternative to monensin and inorganic sources of trace minerals for beef cattle finished on pasture with high concentrate supplementation, without negative effects on supplement feed efficiency and with benefits to animal growth.

The objective with this study was to evaluate intake, feeding behavior, rumen fluid characteristics, performance, and nutrient digestibility of sheep fed banana pseudostem hay (BPH) with and without virginiamycin (VM). Thirty-two uncastrated male crossbred Dorper × Santa Inês lambs at approximately five months of age, with an average initial body weight of 25.00±1.95 kg, were used in the experiment. Four diets were tested, as follows: Tifton grass hay (TGH) plus concentrate with VM; BPH replacing 60% of TGH plus [...] ABSTRACT The objective with this study was to evaluate intake, feeding behavior, rumen fluid characteristics, performance, and nutrient digestibility of sheep fed banana pseudostem hay (BPH) with and without virginiamycin (VM). Thirty-two uncastrated male crossbred Dorper × Santa Inês lambs at approximately five months of age, with an average initial body weight of 25.00±1.95 kg, were used in the experiment. Four diets were tested, as follows: Tifton grass hay (TGH) plus concentrate with VM; BPH replacing 60% of TGH plus

The objective of this study was to evaluate carcass yield, measurements, cuts, and fat deposition of sheep fed banana pseudostem hay and Tifton 85 grass hay, with or without virginiamycin. Thirty-three uncastrated male Dorper × Santa Ines crossbred lambs at five months of age, with an average body weight of 25.00 ± 1.95 kg, were used in a feedlot experiment. The following four diets were evaluated: Tifton 85 grass hay plus concentrate with virginiamycin, banana pseudostem hay replacing 60% of Tifton 85 grass hay plus concentrate with virginiamycin, Tifton 85 grass hay plus concentrate without virginiamycin, and banana pseudostem hay replacing 60% of Tifton 85 grass hay plus concentrate without virginiamycin. The experiment was set in a completely randomized design, in a factorial scheme, using orthogonal contrasts. The diet replacing 60% Tifton 85 grass hay by banana pseudostem hay without virginiamycin had no effect on carcass traits. The combination of virginiamycin and Tifton 85 grass hay provided increases in warm carcass weight, warm carcass yield, spine, omental and mesenteric fat deposition, and, regardless of roughage, increases in the thoracic perimeter.