Carcass Composition and Cuts of Bulls and Steers Fed with Three Concentrate Levels in the Diets

In this paper, weight, carcass dressing, weights of the primary cuts, weights of the physical components of the primary cuts, and weights of the main commercial cuts of 66 Purunã animals, of which 33 were bulls and 33 were steers were evaluated. These animals, with an average age of 19 months at the beginning of the experiment, were finished in a feedlot system during 116 days, and were fed with diets containing three levels of concentrate (0.8%, 1.1%, and 1.4% of body weight). The concentrate was formulated with 25% soybean meal, 73% ground corn grain, 1% of a mineral mix, and 1% of limestone. The interaction between sexual groups and the concentrate level was not significant for any of the variables. Likewise, no effect of the concentrate level was detected on the same variable traits. The bulls demonstrated higher hot carcass weights (265.1 vs 221.7 kg) and a higher proportion of forequarter (38.4% vs 36.1%) however the steers presented with higher proportions of side (19.7% vs 18.5%) and hindquarter (44.2% vs 43.1%). The bulls produced higher yields of muscle in the three primary cuts, there by resulting in higher yields of edible portions of the carcass. The bulls also produced higher weights of tenderloin, knuckle, topside, flat, eye round, rump, and rump cover. The finishing of young bulls in feedlot is to be recommended, since the animals produce carcasses with higher amounts of edible meat and higher yields of commercial cuts, thus allowing for a better price for the carcass. Low concentrate level could be used due to the lower cost of production for farmers.