Effects of various roughage levels with whole flint corn grain on performance of finishing cattle

Performance responses to steam flaking flint corn as well as to the addition of roughage to finishing diets composed of whole flint corn were evaluated. Ninety-six Nellore bulls were stratified by initial BW (373 ± 11 kg) and randomly allotted to 16 feedlot pens (6 bulls/pen) in a randomized complete block design with 4 replicates/treatment. Dietary treatments for the 86-d feeding trial consisted of (DM basis) 1) 78.8% steam-flaked flint corn with 6% sugarcane bagasse and 0.20% urea, 2) 85% whole flint corn without sugarcane bagasse, 3) 81.9% whole flint corn with 3% sugarcane bagasse and 0.10% urea, and 4) 78.8% whole flint corn with 6% sugarcane bagasse and 0.20% urea. All diets contained 15% (DM basis) of a pelleted protein, mineral, and vitamin supplement. Compared with whole flint corn grain, flaking of flint grain decreased ( < 0.01) DMI but did not alter ADG ( = 0.86), so G:F was increased ( = 0.02). Although steam flaking did not alter final BW and carcass characteristics ( > 0.47), it increased energy content of the diet ( < 0.03) and total tract starch digestibility ( < 0.01). In addition, flaking increased ( < 0.01) NEg of flint corn when compared with whole corn. Increasing the roughage content of WC-based diets resulted in quadratic ( < 0.02) responses in DMI, NEm and NEg intakes, ADG, and final BW but had no effect ( > 0.47) on G:F or on observed energy content of the diet. In summary, steam flaking of flint corn when fed in diets containing 6% sugarcane bagasse decreased DMI by 17% but increased G:F by 20% and NEg of corn calculated from feedlot performance by 23%; these responses markedly exceed those typically observed with dent corn grain. Moreover, adding 3% sugarcane bagasse to a flint whole corn grain diet optimized feedlot performance of Nellore bulls.