The effect of supplementing CLOSTAT 500 (Bacillus subtilis PB6) to yearling steers in a commercial feedyard on health, Salmonella spp. prevalence, feedlot growth performance and carcass characteristics

British and British × Continental crossbred beef steers, n = 2,100; 313 ± 38 kg of initial body weight (BW) were used to evaluate the effects of Bacillus subtilis PB6 supplementation to yearling steers in a commercial feedyard on health, prevalence of Salmonella spp., growth performance, and carcass characteristics. Steers were blocked by arrival date and assigned randomly to pens within the block; pens were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 dietary treatments within block. Treatments, replicated in 15 pens/treatment with 70 steers/pen, included: 1) control (CON), diets containing no supplemental direct-fed microbials; 2) CLOSTAT (CLO), diets supplemented with 0.5 g/steer/d Bacillus subtilis PB6 (CLOSTAT 500, Kemin Industries, Des Moines, IA) to provide 6.6 × 10(9) CFU/g of the active ingredient. Supplementing CLO decreased the overall incidence of morbidity (P = 0.03), 10.38% (CLO) vs. 13.43% (CON), decreased the percentage of steers treated once for bovine respiratory disease (BRD; P < 0.01), 9.14% (CLO) vs. 12.76% (CON), and decreased the incidence of BRD retreatment (P = 0.03) compared with CON. Mortality did not differ among treatments (P = 0.23); however, overall deads and removals tended to be less for CLO than CON (53 heads vs. 73 heads respectively, P = 0.06). Prevalence of fecal Salmonella did not differ among treatments, (P ≥ 0.35); overall fecal Salmonella counts tended to be less for CLO (1.59 log (10) CFU/g) than CON (2.04 log (10) CFU/g; P = 0.07). Salmonella concentration in subiliac lymph nodes (n =150/treatment) was not different (P = 0.62) between CON (0.22 log (10) CFU/g) or CLO (0.19 log (10) CFU/g); however, there was a 46% reduction in the overall mean prevalence of lymph node Salmonella (P = 0.46; 15.48% vs. 28.66%) for CLO and CON, respectively. With deads and removals included, final BW was heavier for CLO steers than CON, (654 kg vs. 641 kg, respectively, P = 0.05), and average daily gain (ADG; P = 0.08) and gain efficiency (G:F; P = 0.06) tended to be greater for CLO than CON. With deads and removals excluded, final BW, ADG, and G:F did not differ among treatments (P ≥ 0.30). Carcass traits were not different between treatments (P ≥ 0.15). Supplementing CLO throughout the feeding period in a commercial feedyard improved the health outcomes of yearling steers by decreasing BRD and overall treatment rates, reducing the overall abundance of Salmonella, and resulting in fewer steers removed from the study compared with CON.