Abstract:
The profitability of producing cattle to meet specifications based on weight and fatness may be influenced by the effect of prior growth on subsequent growth and body composition. A preliminary analysis by Robinson et al. (2001) examined the effect of divergent growth during backgrounding (weaning to commencement of finishing) upon growth during finishing, subcutaneous fat thickness, carcass intramuscular fat percentage (IMF%) of M. longissimus and meat yield following finishing either on pasture or a grain based diet to 2 market endpoints. The results presented in this paper summarize the carry-over effects on growth and IMF% of backgrounding on 3 different growth pathways.
