Substituting sorghum grain with crude glycerol in diets for beef cattle.

The expansion of the biodiesel industry has created opportunities for crude glycerol use in beef cattle diets. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of substituting sorghum grain with crude glycerol on dry matter intake (DMI), weight gain and feed intake pattern of 28 non-castrated Nelore males with initial body weight (BW) of 441 ± 40.2 kg and 21.5 ± 0.5 months of age housed in individual or collective pens. The experiment lasted 98 days (June 29 through October 5, 2015), with a 14 day-period of adaptation and 84 days for data collection. Crude glycerol was included at 15% of the ration dry matter as a replacement for sorghum grain. Orts were collected and weighed daily, and DMI was calculated by difference between feed offered and feed refused. Feed intake pattern was determined every two weeks after the beginning of the study in three intervals relative to feed delivery (0-4, 4-10, and 10-24 hours post-feeding). Animals' BW was obtained on days 1, 13, 27, 41, 55, 69, and 83 days of the trial after a 12-hour solid fasting. Crude glycerol did not alter (P>0.05) DMI, weight gain, hot carcass weight and dressing percentage compared with the control diet. A treatment × days of experiment response (P<0.05) occurred due to a decreased DMI in animals fed crude glycerol during the first 14 days of the trial. Crude glycerol-fed animals decreased (P<0.05) the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake pattern in individual and collective pens. Crude glycerol can be recommended at 15% of the total DM ration as a sorghum grain replacement in diets fed to Nelore animals finished in feedlot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]