Feedlot performance of Tanzanian Shorthorn Zebu finished on local feed resources
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Feedlot performance of Tanzanian Shorthorn Zebu finished on local feed resources D. E. Mushi 1 Received: 12 December 2019 / Accepted: 2 July 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract A study was conducted in Hanang District to assess potential for on-farm feedlot finishing of Tanzanian Shorthorn Zebu (TSHZ) in dry season using locally available feed resources. A total of 65 (2–3 years old, 150–250 kg LWT) steers were randomly distributed into two dietary treatments in three villages. The steers were finished either in feedlots using compounded diets or under free grazing in accordance with farmers’ practice. Following 90 days of feeding, all steers were slaughtered for detailed carcass and meat quality assessment. Growth performance, carcass and meat quality of experimental animals were assessed to determine feedlot performance of TSHZ. Results show that average daily gain of feedlot-finished animals (620 g/day) was nearly three-fold higher (P = 0.042) than that of grazed steers (223 g/day). Feedlot-finished steers produced 28 kg (P = 0.001) heavier carcasses than grazed ones. Carcasses from feedlot-finished steers cooled slowly as they had higher (P = 0.001) temperatures than that of grazed ones at 45 min (33.1 vs. 30.5 °C) and 6 h (21.0 vs. 19.5 °C) post-mortem. Feedlot-finished steers produced beef with higher (P = 0.003) marbling scores (3.4) than grazed ones (2.4). As a result, beef from the feedlot-finished steers was more tender (P = 0.016) than that from grazed ones, and it required 13 N less force to shear. It is concluded that TSHZ responds positively to improved feeding with significant enhancement on carcass gain and meat quality. Use of diets compounded using agro-processing by-products, instead of whole grain, can lower the cost of finishing TSHZ steers significantly. Keywords Beef quality . Feedlot . Local feeds . Zebu
Introduction The demand for quality meat in Tanzania is growing due to expanding markets attributable to growth in tourism and mining industries as well as increase in income and purchasing power in some segments of the wider society (Mlote et al. 2013). Given that the number of urban middle-income class is growing, demand for quality meat is expected to grow even further since meat is a common food for these households. Increased demand for quality meat in niche market calls for the livestock industry to search for ways of producing quality meat more efficiently. According to the MLDF (2017), Tanzania is endowed with a large number of livestock, including 30.5 million cattle. Despite the large livestock resource base, Tanzania derives only 6.9% of
* D. E. Mushi [email protected] 1
Department of Animal, aquaculture and Range Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
its GDP from the livestock sector (MLDF 2017). This is partly due to low productivity of the sector and lack of market-oriented production. TMB (2019) reported that in 2018/2019, Tanzania imported 517 t of meat, partly because locally produced meat does not meet the requirements fo
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