Efficiency of Converting Nutrients and Cultural Energy in Various Feeding and Grazing Systems

Abstract

Yearlong total confinement and partial confinement feeding were compared to conventional range grazing to determine the cultural and digestible energy expended to produce a kilocalorie of dressed-carcass meat from weaner calves and the protein consumed to produce a pound of red-meat protein. The range groups required the least amount of cultural energy to produce a kilocalorie of meat and the total confined groups required the most. The total confined system on a low level of nutrition, where calves were weaned early, converted digestible energy most efficiently but converted digestible protein least efficiently, whereas range groups converted digestible energy least efficiently and digestible protein most efficiently.