Comparison of monensin sodium sources for finishing beef cattle

The objective of this study was to evaluate the ruminal fermentation characteristics of ruminally fistulated beef steers consuming a steam-flaked corn (SFC) or dry-rolled corn (DRC) based diet containing either Rumensin 90 (RUM; Elanco, Greenfield, IN), or Monovet 90 (MV; Huvepharma, Peachtree City, GA). Six ruminally fistulated steers (657.7 kg ± 72.6) housed individually were used in a 6 × 6 Latin square design with 2 × 3 factorial treatment arrangement. Each of the 6 periods were 15 d with 14 d for diet adaptation and 1 d of rumen fluid collections. Dietary treatments were DRC without monensin sodium (DRC-C), SFC without monensin sodium (SFC-C), DRC with Rumensin 90 (DRC-R), DRC with Monovet 90 (DRC-MV), SFC with Rumensin 90 (SFC-R), and SFC with Monovet 90 (SFC-MV). Rumen contents and fluid were collected through the fistula of each animal at 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h on d 15 of each period. Rumen fluid collected at 6 h post-feeding each period was used for in vitro analyses. Steer was the experimental unit and the model included fixed effects of grain processing, additive, and grain processing × additive. Total gas produced was composited from each in vitro bottle into a gas collection bag for the 48-h determination of methane concentration. No differences were detected for DMI (P = 0.81). Ruminal pH did not differ for the control or additive treatments (P = 0.33). However, ruminal pH was lower (P < 0.01) with SFC compared to DRC. There was a significant difference in acetate to propionate ratio for grain type (P = 0.01) and a tendency for additive inclusion (P = 0.06). Additive inclusion reduced methane proportion of total gas compared to control treatments (P ≤ 0.01). Overall, monensin sodium reduced methane concentration though source had no effect on DMI or ruminal pH.