Impacts of Sprouted Barley on Performance and Carcass Ultrasound Measurements in Angus-Influenced Steers During Backgrounding

The objective of this research was to determine the impacts of including sprouted barley (SB) in the diets of backgrounding beef steers. Angus-influenced steers (328 ± 6.59 kg) were assigned to one of four diets (n = 15/diet): a control (CON) diet, or a diet containing 5%, 10%, or 20% SB (DM basis)—replacing corn silage and some rolled barley. Individual intake and feeding behavior were monitored using Vytelle bunks. Body weight (BW) and ruminal fluid samples were collected on d 0, 30, and 60, while dry matter intake (DMI), feeding behavior, average daily gain (ADG), and gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) were monitored for 60 d. In addition, total amount of nutrients consumed (crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), net energy for maintenance (NEm), and net energy for gain (NEg)) were also assessed. Calf BW, ADG, and G:F were not impacted by diet (p ≤ 0.43). DMI and consumption of CP, NDF, ADF, NEm and NEg were all impacted by diet × day (p ≤ 0.01). The acetate:propionate, percentage of propionate and concentration of butyrate were each impacted by diet × day (p ≤ 0.007). Collectively, these findings suggest including SB in the diet modifies nutrient intake and ruminal fermentation in backgrounding steers.