Winter fattening of beef cattle: From research station trials to implementation by farmers

The paper presents the results of on-station research into the potential for winter fattening of steers and follows up the results with testing by communal area farmers. The on-station diets were based on bran fed at two levels in conjunction with stover only or stover treated with ammonia. Ammoniation produced no significant response on any of the parameters measured, whereas level of bran produced significant responses in all cases. Significant relationships were found between age and all parameters except liveweight gain. Ad libitum stover supplemented with a high level of bran produced the best results. On-farm testing was carried out in the following year with a group of farmers belonging to a borehole syndicate. Farmers assumed responsibility for the day to day running of the trial with advice provided by project staff. Animals used in the trial varied considerably in age and weight. Even so, results indicated that farmers were able to obtain a higher return than that from other possible marketing options.