Effect of Dietary Cottonseed Meal Concentration on Feedlot Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Cull Beef Cows1

Abstract Cull beef cows (n = 232, initial BW = 450 + 6 kg) stratified by body condition score and number of permanent incisors were used in a randomized complete block design (8 pens/treatment, 9 to 11 cows/pen) to evaluate graded levels of supplemental cottonseed meal during a 57-d feeding period. Basal 92% concentrate diets were formulated to contain 0.9% urea and were based on unprocessed corn. Supplemental cottonseed meal and tallow replaced corn in isocaloric (NE g ) test diets formulated to contain dietary CP of 11.5, 13.0, or 14.5% of DM (0, 4, and 8% of diet DM; degradable intake protein = 7.01, 8.52, and 10.02% of diet DM). Cows were adapted to diets by offering a restricted amount of the 92% concentrate diet on d 1, and DMI was gradually increased until ad libitum access was achieved (by d 30). Overall DMI (9.2, 9.3, 9.5 + 0.15 kg/d) increased linearly (P=0.08) as dietary cottonseed meal increased. Live ADG (1.23, 1.24, and 1.36 + 0.07 kg/d) tended to increase linearly (P=0.14), whereas live ADG:DMI (133, 133, and 143 + 7 g/kg), carcass-adjusted ADG (1.27, 1.25, and 1.38 + 0.07 kg/d), and carcass-adjusted ADG:DMI (138, 134, and 145 + 7 g/kg) did not differ (P>0.22) among treatments. Hot carcass weight, fat thickness, longissimus area, internal fat percentage, average yield grade, lean and fat color, and carcass conformation did not differ (P>0.18) among treatments. Carcass maturity and quality-grade distributions were not statistically analyzed because of prior stratification of animals by chronological age. However, overall carcass maturity (includes lean and bone maturity) averaged across treatments was 2.63% A, 4.39% B, 40.79% C, 52.19% D, and 0% E. The distribution of carcass quality grades averaged across treatments was 0.44% Choice, 1.32% Select, 5.70% Standard, 5.70% Commercial, 78.07% Utility, and 8.77% Canner. The incidence of A-, A, or A+ liver abscesses responded quadratically (P=0.07; 13.7, 21.8, and 11.7% for 0, 4, and 8% cottonseed meal, respectively), but liver abscess severity was not analyzed because of limited observations in each category. The incidence of other hepatic defects (distoma, telangiectasis, cirrhosis) did not differ (P=0.24) among treatments. Increasing dietary CP using cottonseed meal increased feed intake and tended to increase live BW gain of feedlot cull beef cows.