10 v
 -' /L AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTER
 / 5 Jay, Florida
 SJAY, ARC RESEARCH REPORT WF75-3 IIARCH, 1975

 PRODUCTION OF "FORAGE BEEF"1/

 J. E. Bertrand, L. S. Dunavin, and M. C. Lutrick2/

 "Forage beef", also called "grass-fed beef", is beef f~nm animals to
 months of age which have been fed on forage or grass to weights'6f 600 tdP900 IMe
 A large volume of beef with little or no grain finishing is goig'lo market/
 because of the rapid buildup in cow numbers during recent years 'an igh fe
 costs. In fact, beef supplies have increased all over the world at the very time
 that consumer demand is faltering. The marketing of "forage beef" ap to be
 one of the ways to relieve the present beef situation.

 This report presents the results of two experiments conducted at the
 Agricultural Research Center, Jay, during the cool season of 1973-74 on the
 production of 600 lb. or heavier forage-fed steers from light-weight steers (400
 lb. or less).

 Experiment 1. Cool-Season Feeding Regimes for Growing Fall-Weaned Beef Calves

 The main purpose of this experiment was to evaluate six different cool-
 season feeding regimes for growing fall-weaned calves (300-400 lb.) to
 heavier weights (600 lb. or more). Also, (1) the value of energy feeds (corn
 silage and grain) for growing beef calves grazing winter annual pastures needed
 to be determined and (2) a comparison of sulfur-coated urea with ammonium nitrate
 as sources of nitrogen for winter annual pastures was considered important.
 Ninety-six light-weight (average 371 lb.), good quality calves of British
 breeding, each treated with a 36 mg ear implant of RALGRO (Zeranol a protein
 anabolic agent), were weighed and allotted as equally as possible to 12 experi-
 ment groups of eight animals each. The 12 experimental groups, utilizing two
 groups per treatment, were assigned to the six feeding regimes as follows:

 1. Treatment I a corn silage (95%) + concentrate supplement (protein,
 mineral, vitamin) (5%) ration fed ad libitum in drylot.

 2. Treatment I! rotational grazing of a triticale (Fasgro variety "South
 Blend"), ryegrass (Gulf), and crimson clover (Dixie) mixture (unsupple-
 mented)---three applications of 100 lb./acre each of ammonium nitrate
 during the grazing season. Four 1.25 acre plots (total 5 acres) for each
 group initially containing eight calves.

 3. Treatment III same forage mixture, acreage, and number of unsupplemented
 calves as 2 above---one application of sulfur-coated urea equivalent to
 300 lb./acre of ammonium nitrate.

 4. Treatment IV same forage mixture, acreage, and number of unsupplemented
 calves as 2 above---three applications of 200 lb./acre each of ammonium
 nitrate during the grazing season.


 1/Presented at the Beef Cattle Field Day, Agricultural Research Center, Jay,
 March 6, 1975.

 2/Associate Animal Scientist, Associate Agronomist, and Associate Soils Chemist,
 respectively.