An increasing number of consumers are expressing concerns about the quality, nutrient content, and safety of the meet products they purchase, alongside animal welfare and the environmental footprint of production systems. Various studies show that grassland-based systems can produce a healthier meat product. In this context, livestock farmers are actively pursuing improvements in their systems focus on sustainability, with regenerative livestock farming emerging as a prominent approach. Most research has focused on showing the differences in the quality of meat comparing pastoral systems and those fed concentrates under controlled environments. However, there are no studies in Chile that evaluate the quality of beef derived from different pastoral systems, particularly those consider adequate data and products sourced directly from livestock sector. This study explores three beef production systems commonly used in southern Chile (conventional, free grazing, and regenerative), evaluating their impact on carcass characteristics, meat quality attributes, and nutritional components. The results show some variations in carcass weight and yield, with free grazing showing better results. Deviations in meat color were observed, with conventional meat being more red and yellow while regenerative meat was less bright. Subcutaneous fat color and water retention capacity were influenced by diet and production methods. Although lipid oxidation showed no differences, 100% grazing-based systems exhibited lower values, suggesting a higher intake of antioxidants. The research highlights the nutritional superiority of beef from grasslands, characterized by a lower intramuscular fat content and higher values of minerals, such as selenium. The complex multifactorial interaction of pastoral systems is also highlighted, impacting the carcass and meat quality. A holistic approach is essential in future research to generate and assess healthy beef.

The objective was to estimate the difference in cost, revenue, and profit between unassisted and assisted calvings on western Canadian cow-calf operations. Historical records of individual animal production measures from 2015 to 2020 and industry-described inputs were used in a modified decision tree model. The incidence of assisted calvings in heifers and cows was 4.6 and 2%, respectively. Assisted heifers and cows had an expected profit of −$227.43 and −$67.06 CAD per calving, respectively, while unassisted heifers and cows had an expected profit of −$76.11 and $120.12 CAD per calving, respectively. Calving assistance can impact the profitability of western Canadian cow-calf operations.

The objective of this research was to assess the adoption of circular agricultural practices as a tool to improve the recovery use efficiency of phosphorus (P) applied to tropical soils. Two Brazilian farms (1 and 2) that are under long-term no-till and cropped year-round with cover and/or cash crops were used in this study. Soybean, maize and common bean were grown during the summer season (October–February), followed by wheat, common bean and maize during the winter season (February–August). Brachiaria ruziziensis was intercropped with off-season maize. Farm 1 also grew sweet potatoes in rotation with grains. In the integrated crop–livestock system, the leftovers from the silos and crop residues were used to feed beef cattle, while the residues not used in the confinement were turned into compost and applied in the production fields. During the last 3 years, 80 (farm 1) and 71 (farm 2) kg/ha/year of P-fertilizer was applied to meet the demand of the different crops and 56% (farm 1) and 58% (farm 2) of P-fertilizer was exported through the crops and livestock. P-recovery represented more than 50% on both farms. Around 60% of the P consumed by animals was excreted in the form of faeces and urine and the animal manure was used to produce organic compost. Therefore, most of the P consumed by the livestock was returned back to the field to serve as organic fertilizer. This study showed that circular agricultural practices can enhance P-recovery.

The objective was to evaluate steer performance, meat nutritional value, land-use, food–feed competition and both economic and environmental sustainability within temperate pasture-based suckler weanling-to-beef systems with or without (forage-only) concentrates. Post-weaning, 8-month-old, late-maturing breed steers (333 kg) were assigned to one of three systems: (1) grass silage + 1.2 kg concentrate DM (148 days), followed by pasture (123 days) and finished on ad libitum concentrates (120 days) – slaughter age, 21 months (GRAIN); (2) as per (1) but pasture (196 days) and finished on grass silage ad libitum + 3.5 kg concentrate DM (124 days) – slaughter age, 24 months (SIL + GRAIN); and (3) grass silage-only (148 days), pasture (196 days), silage-only (140 days) and finished on pasture (97 days) – slaughter age, 28 months (FORAGE). The mean target carcass weight was 390 kg for each system. Data generated were used to parameterize a farm-level beef systems model. Concentrate DM intake was 1187, 606 and 0 kg/head for GRAIN, SIL + GRAIN and FORAGE, respectively. The forage-only (FORAGE) system offers several advantages, including improved farm profitability, enhanced meat fatty acid profile and only utilized inedible human feed. Consequently, associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per net human edible food produced were more favourable for FORAGE. However, compared to GRAIN, the FORAGE system had an older age at slaughter and associated increased pasture land-use and GHG emissions per animal, meat weight gain and essential amino acids gain. There are therefore inevitable trade-offs, as one beef system does not improve all sustainability and GHG emission metrics.

Veterinarians and animal scientists can provide leadership on issues relevant to farm animal welfare, but perceptions of these stakeholders regarding societal expectations for welfare are underexplored. This study involved five focus groups of veterinarians and animal scientists (n = 50 in total), recruited at a European meeting focused on cattle welfare. Participants were invited to discuss topics related to cattle welfare and were prompted with questions to elicit their perspectives of public concerns and how the participants felt public input should be included when developing solutions. Discussions were moderated by trained facilitators, audio-recorded and transcribed, and transcripts analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Ultimately, four primary themes were developed: (1) The public as concerned; (2) The public as ignorant; (3) The public as needing education; and (4) The public as helper or hindrance. Groups identified specific farming practices viewed as concerning to the public, including lack of pasture access, behavioural restriction, and painful procedures. Discussions about these concerns and the role of the public were often framed around the assumption that the public was ignorant about farming, and that this ignorance needed to be rectified through education. Participants were generally ambivalent in their beliefs regarding public contributions to solutions for farm animal welfare but suggested that consumers should pay more for products to help shoulder any costs of welfare improvements.

We investigate the role of optimism bias in bull price expectations using incentivized lab-in-the-field experiments with Alabama and Tennessee cattle producers. We develop bull price prediction tasks and reward accurate predictions. We find that the EPD information provision prevents optimism bias from contaminating price expectations in the whole sample. However, we also document that, unlike buyers, sellers are prone to unrealistic optimistic expectations, and our results reveal that optimism bias can be moderated by the type of expected progeny difference information utilized, breed characteristics, and regional differences in cattle operations. We contribute to the literature by documenting the role of behavioral biases.

We determine optimal stocker strategies based on calving season, herd size, and the number of days of retention before marketing weaned calves. We estimate a hedonic pricing model for feeder cattle and incorporate this into a simulation model that considers the variability of cattle prices and feed costs. The profit and utility-maximizing decision for fall calving herd would be to retain weaned calves for 150-day postweaning. The producer marketing spring-born calves would prefer to sell these calves at weaning. The results are being utilized by extension to aid cattle producers in reducing their feed costs and increasing their profits.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of genotype–environment interaction (GEI) on the yearling weight of Simmental cattle raised in Brazil, including the sex dimorphism in reaction norm models. The environmental gradient (EG) was formed using the average weight at 365 days of the contemporary groups. Two approaches were adopted in this study to evaluate reaction norms for weight at 365 days: a single-trait model and a multitrait model in which the data for males and females were separated and considered different traits for the analysis of sexual dimorphism. The genetic parameters were estimated using the Bayesian inference and Gibbs sampling. Analysis of the trend of the heritability estimates obtained with the single-trait model along the EG revealed a value of about 0.33 (EG: −21) in the worst environments, which decreased in the intermediate environments and reached a value of 0.24 in EG: −8, with a subsequent increase of the estimates up to 0.51 in EG: +23. Using the multitrait model, similar trends were observed for the heritability estimates, which ranged from 0.25 to 0.54 for males and from 0.23 to 0.50 for females. The results show that the weight of Simmental cattle raised in the tropics is influenced by GEI and greater genetic progress could be obtained by selecting better environments. However, no significant differences in the response to most environmental changes were observed between sexes and there is only evidence of genetic heteroscedasticity in environments with lower production levels.

Six pairs of steers were allowed to choose between two types of floors in a paired choice test. The four floors tested were a fully slatted floor, a fully slatted floor covered with rubber mats, a solid floor with sawdust bedding, and a solid floor with straw bedding. All combinations of floor types were tested and the choices were repeated eight times, using naïve animals. The animals were allowed 17 days to habituate, and on days 18-21 their behaviour was recorded by video for 72 hours. Straw was the most preferred floor type, followed by sawdust, then mats, and finally slats. During a second test period, rubber mats were compared with rubber strips, and no significant preferences were found.

The objective of this study was to evaluate conditions during transport and their effects on welfare and carcase bruising of beef cattle in Uruguay, a country with an extensive, pasture-based, production system. Twelve abattoirs were visited periodically during two years (2002-2003) and 448 trucks were inspected on arrival. The state of vehicle maintenance was deemed ‘unacceptable’ for the transport of animals in 16.5 (± 3.2)% of cases and most of the vehicles (99.1 [± 0.1]%) had a ‘guillotine-type’ door at the rear end. Both characteristics showed a significant association with the presence of carcase bruising. No overall significant difference was found with the year of vehicle manufacture (24.6 [± 0.2]% before 1990), the presence of rollers bars in 51.3 (± 0.1)% of the trucks on one or both sides of the doors, and the working experience of the men who transported the cattle (> 10 years). The average distance travelled with the animals loaded onto trucks was 240 (± 9) km and the mean journey length was 305 (± 7) min (5 h). A statistically significant effect of the distance travelled and the state of the roads on the occurrence of bruising was found. The use of devices to force animals to move, such as: electric prod (75%), sticks (3%), loud shouts (40%) and a combination of all of the above were positively correlated with bruising. After slaughter, carcase bruising was identified, quantified, and classified into three degrees of muscle injury. From 15,168 beef cattle observed, 60.0% (9,106) had at least one injury. Of the injured carcases, 33.1% (3,015) had one bruise, 25.1% (2,289) had two bruises, 16.2% (1,474) had three bruises and 25.6% (2,328) four or more bruises. Transporting animals in a humane fashion will reduce the amount of bruising on carcases, thereby increasing both the welfare of beef cattle and the profitability of the beef industry in Uruguay.

Livestock transport regulations in many countries require that cattle be unloaded for feed, water and rest when they are being transported long distances, but there are few evidence-based guidelines about how to most effectively manage and provide these requirements at rest stops. The aim of this study was to assess whether available feeding space at a commercial rest facility affected eating behaviour and general activity. Twenty-four trailer loads of cattle were selected for study, and each load was divided into two groups. The control group was provided ad libitum access to a single, round, hay-bale feeder. The treatment group had two round, hay-bale feeders and thus twice as much feeding space per animal. Cattle behaviour was recorded during a 5-h rest period using instantaneous scan sampling every 5 min. This was performed at the group level by counting the number of animals engaged in pre-defined activities, as well as individually by tracking a subset of focal animals from each group. Behaviour was categorised as one of the following: eating, drinking, lying, or ‘other’. Interruptions to eating were also quantified. Eating was counted as interrupted when, instead of being followed by a consecutive eating observation, it was interspersed by another behaviour. Doubling feeding space increased the mean proportion of cattle eating by 30%, decreased interruption of eating bouts and had no effect on drinking and lying behaviour. Increased access to feed has potential welfare and health benefits. These data can be used to inform standards for feeding beef cattle at rest stops during long distance travel.

One challenge with animal welfare assessment programmes is that standards that make a meaningful difference to welfare can be difficult for a broad spectrum of producers to meet, thereby preventing many from engaging at all. Global Animal Partnership's (GAP's) 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating Standards are unique in that they are designed as a multi-tiered system that encourages continuous welfare improvement. The 5-Step program allows for a wide variety of production models — from small farms raising fewer than 50 animals in extensive, outdoor systems to larger, indoor operations raising tens of millions — and allows producers to move up the Steps as they choose. Each additional Step provides a four-fold benefit: the animals have improved welfare, the producer has the opportunity of greater rewards and more accurate representation of her or his farming practices, retailers can provide wider product selection to meet their customer demands, and consumers have the guarantee of ever-increasing, welfare-friendly choices as well as a transparent source of information on how their meat was raised. GAP began piloting its 5-Step program in 2008 with comprehensive on-farm/on-ranch and transport standards for meat chickens, pigs and beef cattle in an exclusive, two-year partnership with Whole Foods Market (WFM), North America's largest natural-foods grocer. The variety of farms and ranches supplying WFM provided a thorough testing ground for the programme. Chicken, pork, beef and turkey products ranging from Step 1 to Step 5+ are available regionally in WFM stores in the USA and Canada. Having successfully completed this pilot phase with WFM, GAP is now negotiating with other retailers, both restaurants and grocers, as well as further-processors, in North America and beyond. The essence of the Steps is captured by the following phrases: Step 1 — no crowding, cages or crates; Step 2 — an enriched environment; Step 3 — enhanced outdoor access; Step 4 — pasture centred; Step 5 — animal-centred: bred for the outdoors; and Step 5+ — animal-centred: entire life on the same farm. As of 1 December 2011, more than 1,740 third-party audited and certified farms and ranches are raising more than 140 million animals annually according to GAP's 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards.

We investigate differences in profitability of three Aberdeen-influenced breeds, Angus, Red Angus, and American Aberdeen. Using data from North Dakota, we measure differences in birth weights, calving intervals, weaning weights, cow weights, and profitability. Weaning weights differ between breeds, setting up a trade-off between lower feed costs for smaller cows and higher revenue for larger cows. American Aberdeen-influenced cows bred to Red Angus bulls have $1–$6 per acre higher returns than Angus or Red Angus-influenced cows. Aberdeen sires have the lowest returning calves.

We estimate a hedonic pricing model to determine producers’ value for bull expected progeny differences (EPDs), genomic-enhanced EPDs, and phenotypic traits. Birth weight EPD, ribeye area EPD, sale weight, age, frame score, and other factors had a statistically significant impact on bull prices. GE-EPDs were not associated with a change in the bull sales prices expect for weaned calf value and birth weight EPDs. Including weaned calf value and GE-EPDs in a bull hedonic pricing model provides a unique contribution. The results from this work will inform educational programming for bull purchasers on using new economic selection indices and GE-EPDs.

This study determines which factors are associated with the use of rotational grazing and the frequency with which Tennessee producers rotate cattle during the summer months. Survey data were used to estimate an ordered response model with sample selection. Most respondents used rotational grazing, and the most frequent rotational schedule was rotating cattle one to two times per month. Factors including labor, capital, knowledge, and water availability influenced the use of rotational grazing and the frequency of rotating cattle. The insights from this study can inform the development of incentives to promote more intensive use of rotational grazing.

This study aims to determine the effects of dietary crude protein (CP) content of early-weaned calves; and the influence of flint maize processing methods on intake, total tract nutrient digestibilities and performance of Nellore heifer calves. Fifteen early-weaned Nellore female calves (4 ± 0.5 months; 108 ± 13.1 kg) were used. In phase 1, animals were fed one of the following diets for 112 days: 130, 145 or 160 g CP/kg dry matter (DM). In phase 2, animals received one of the two diets for 84 days: 0.60 dry ground maize grain, 0.30 whole-plant maize silage plus 0.10 mineral-protein supplement or 0.90 snaplage plus 0.10 mineral-protein supplement. In phase 1, intake and digestibility of dietary components were not affected (P > 0.05) by increasing dietary CP content. Daily total urinary nitrogen (N) and urinary urea N increased (P < 0.05) in response to increasing dietary CP content. Animal performance was not affected (P > 0.05) by dietary CP content. In phase 2, maize processing methods did not affect (P > 0.05) intake and digestibility of dietary components as well as animal performance, carcase characteristics and carcase composition. Therefore, based on the current experimental condition, we conclude that dietary CP concentrations of 130 g/kg DM can be indicated for early-weaned Nellore calves. However, more studies are recommended to validate this result and to evaluate concentrations below 130 g CP/kg DM for early-weaned Nellore calves. Moreover, snaplage could be used as an exclusive fibre and energy source for finishing cattle in feedlot.

In this study it is hypothesized that there are differences between immunoglobulin G (IgG) content in colostrum from beef (Chianina, Podolica) and dairy (Holstein Friesian) cows and that variables such as breed, and parity can influence IgG content. The further objective was to determine if these factors may vary in terms of sensitivity, specificity and the cut point when data obtained with the digital Brix refractometer is compared with the gold standard radial immunodiffusion assay (RID). A total of 90 samples of first-milking colostrum were collected within 2 h after parturition. IgG concentration was determined indirectly by digital Brix refractometer and directly by RID. Results obtained by RID were compared among breed and parity. For the digital Brix refractometer, sensitivity and specificity to detect colostrum with an IgG concentration lower than 50 g/l were calculated and the optimal cut-point was selected for each breed. Samples containing less than <50 g/l IgG accounted for 15.9% of the total. Parity influenced colostral IgG concentration and beef cows had a higher mean concentration of IgG (101.1 g/l in Chianina and 90.6 g/l in Podolica) than dairy cows (71.1 g/l in Holstein Friesian) First parity Chianina cows had the highest IgG mean content (116.1 g/l). At the optimal cut-point for Brix refractometer (20%) sensitivity and specificity were 0.93 (0.84–0.97) and 0.81 (0.70–0.88), however, a breed-related cut-point could be used to reduce evaluation error. Linear regression modeling showed that refractometer data were related to RID (r = 0.78). Results obtained suggest that breed and parity can influence IgG content of colostrum and, despite the Brix refractometer being an excellent on-farm tool, a breed-based definition of optimal cut point is needed.

Assessment of behavior is a longstanding strategy to assist the diagnosis of clinical bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in beef cattle. Cattle with systemic inflammation caused by infectious pathogen(s) display predictable behavioral adaptations compared to healthy cohorts. Behavioral alterations in BRD-affected cattle include lethargy, social isolation, and anorexia. However, behavior assessment to support BRD case definition in the production setting is challenging because: (1) other bovine diseases cause behavior alterations similar to BRD; (2) cattle have inherent prey instinct to disguise sickness behavior during human evaluation; (3) labor constraints dictate very brief observation of animal behavior; and (4) traditional behavior assessment is subjective and agreement is often poor. Some of these challenges may be overcome with the use of advanced technologies that allow continuous, remote, and objective behavior assessment of individual cattle. Automated methodologies for behavior assessment include three-axis accelerometers that quantify physical behaviors, systems that document feeding/watering behavior, and triangulation systems that document spatial behavior. Each of these behavior-monitoring approaches generates unique information and may facilitate early detection of BRD compared to traditional methods. Nevertheless, adoption of behavior assessment technologies for BRD diagnosis in beef operations hinges upon improved detection, positive return on investment, and successful integration within existing BRD management practices.

Breeding values for feed intake and feed efficiency in beef cattle are generally derived indoors on high-concentrate (HC) diets. Within temperate regions of north-western Europe, however, the majority of a growing beef animal’s lifetime dietary intake comes from grazed grass and grass silage. Using 97 growing beef cattle, the objective of the current study was to assess the repeatability of both feed intake and feed efficiency across 3 successive dietary test periods comprising grass silage plus concentrates (S+C), grazed grass (GRZ) and a HC diet. Individual DM intake (DMI), DMI/kg BW and feed efficiency-related parameters, residual feed intake (RFI) and gain to feed ratio (G : F) were assessed. There was a significant correlation for DMI between the S+C and GRZ periods (r = 0.32; P < 0.01) as well as between the S+C and HC periods (r = 0.41; P < 0.001), whereas there was no association for DMI between the GRZ and HC periods. There was a significant correlation for DMI/kg BW between the S+C and GRZ periods (r = 0.33; P < 0.01) and between the S+C and HC periods (r = 0.40; P < 0.001), but there was no association for the trait between the GRZ and HC periods. There was a significant correlation for RFI between the S+C and GRZ periods (r = 0.25; P < 0.05) as well as between S+C and HC periods (r = 0.25; P < 0.05), whereas there was no association for RFI between the GRZ and HC periods. Gain to feed ratio was not correlated between any of the test periods. A secondary aspect of the study demonstrated that traits recorded in the GRZ period relating to grazing bite rate, the number of daily grazing bouts and ruminating bouts were associated with DMI (r = 0.28 to 0.42; P < 0.05 - 0.001), DMI/kg BW (r = 0.36 to 0.45; P < 0.01 - 0.001) and RFI (r = 0.31 to 0.42; P < 0.05 - 0.001). Additionally, the number of ruminating boli produced per day and per ruminating bout were associated with G : F (r = 0.28 and 0.26, respectively; P < 0.05). Results from this study demonstrate that evaluating animals for both feed intake and feed efficiency indoors on HC diets may not reflect their phenotypic performance when consuming conserved forage-based diets indoors or when grazing pasture.

Ruminants fed high-forage diets usually have a low feed efficiency, and their performances might be limited by methionine (Met) supply. However, the INRA feeding system for growing cattle does not give recommendation for this amino acid (AA). This study aimed to assess the effects of Met-balanced diets on animal performance and N metabolism in young bulls fed high-forage diets formulated at or above protein requirements. Four diets resulting from a factorial arrangement of two protein levels (Normal (13·5 % crude protein) v. High (16·2 % crude protein)) crossed with two Met concentrations (unbalanced (2·0 % of metabolisable protein) v. balanced (2·6 % of metabolisable protein)) were tested on thirty-four fattening Charolais bulls for 7 months before slaughter. Animal growth rate was greater in Met-balanced diets (+8 %; P = 0·02) with a trend for a greater impact in High v. Normal protein diets (P = 0·10). This trend was observed in lower plasma concentrations of branched-chain AA only when Met supplementation was applied to the Normal protein diet (P ≤ 0·06) suggesting another co-limiting AA at Normal protein level. Feed conversion efficiency and N use efficiency were unaffected by Met supplementation (P > 0·05). However, some plasma indicators suggested a better use of AA when High protein diets were balanced v. unbalanced in Met. The proportion of total adipose tissue in carcass increased (+5 percent units; P = 0·03), whereas that of muscle decreased on average 0·8 percent units (P = 0·05) in Met-balanced diets. Our results justify the integration of AA into dietary recommendations for growing cattle.