Evaluation of protein supplementation for growing cattle fed grass silage-based diets: a meta-analysis

• Published in: Animal (Cambridge, England) England), 2014-10, Vol.8 (10), p.1653-1662
• Main Authors: Huuskonen, A., Huhtanen, P., Joki-Tokola, E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ammonia - metabolism; ammonium nitrogen; Animal and Dairy Science; Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; beef; Body Weight; breeds; bulls; byproducts; carcass characteristics; carcass weight; Cattle - physiology; data collection; Diet - veterinary; Dietary Proteins - metabolism; Digestion; Edible Grain - metabolism; emissions; equations; feed conversion; fish meal; Glycine max - metabolism; grass silage; grasses; growing cattle; growth; heifers; Husdjursvetenskap; Male; Meat - analysis; meta-analysis; Nutrition; Poaceae - anatomy & histology; prediction; prices; protein intake; protein supplementation; protein supplements; rapeseed meal; Research Article; Rumen - metabolism; Silage - analysis; small cereal grains; soybean meal; steers; straw; whole crop silage
• ISSN: 1751-7311; 1751-732X; 1751-732X
• DOI: 10.1017/S1751731114001517

The objective of this meta-analysis was to develop empirical equations predicting growth responses of growing cattle to protein intake. Overall, the data set comprised 199 diets in 80 studies. The diets were mainly based on grass silage or grass silage partly or completely replaced by whole-crop silages or straw. The concentrate feeds consisted of cereal grains, fibrous by-products and protein supplements. The analyses were conducted both comprehensively for all studies and also separately for studies in which soybean meal (SBM; n=71 diets/28 studies), fish meal (FM; 27/12) and rapeseed meal (RSM; 74/35) were used as a protein supplement. Increasing dietary CP concentration increased (P