Algal biomass as a potential ingredient in cattle feed

June 2, 2019 |

In Nebraska, researchers at the University of Nebraska conducted a study evaluating the effects of feeding condensed algal residue solubles (CARS; available in 2019 in Blair, NE area) to finishing cattle for 100 days. The feedstuff CARS demonstrated to be a safe feed ingredient in cattle diets.

Feeding CARS to finishing cattle improved F:G as inclusion in the diet increased up to 7.5% of diet DM. Cattle HCW, ADG, and DMI all increased quadratically with increasing inclusion of CARS from 0 to 7.5% of diet DM. No adverse effects of feeding CARS were observed in hematology, blood chemistry, or histopathology analyses. Further research is needed to determine the optimal level of CARS inclusion in a finishing diet and the impact on carcass traits, as well as potential for CARS to be used in growing cattle diets.

The diets consisted of 70% dry rolled corn with CARS displacing corn at 0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5% of dry matter. Increasing CARS inclusion resulted in a linear decrease in intake, a quadratic increase in daily gain, and a linear decrease in feed:gain. Calculations showed a linear increase in dietary net energy as CARS increased in the diet.

Category: Research

Thank you for visting the Digest.