Abstract
This study was conducted to develop a pasture feeding program for reducing the Hanwoo feeding cost. Italian ryegrass (IRG) is a major plant which is abundantly produced in the southern area of South Korea. Locally produced Italian ryegrass has a 30 - 50% reduced pasture cost compared to imported pasture grasses. We hypothesized that Italian ryegrass feed could reduce the feeding cost but not change the physiological characteristics of the Hanwoo steers in the feedlot. Four treatments (Control, short fed IRG silage, long fed IRG silage, and IRG hay) in a completely random design were used to feed 27 Hanwoo steers. Three or four steers were fed in the same pen, and 8 pens were used for the treatments. Blood was drawn from each steer on the first week of every month from 11 to 30 months. Overall, the average daily gain and feed efficiency were not different among the treatments (p < 0.05) except for the final fattening diets (p < 0.05). The long fed IRG silage group had a low ADG compared to the other groups (p < 0.05). The serum non-esterified fatty acid and glucose concentrations were reduced during the fattening periods (p < 0.05); however, the serum albumin, total proteins, triglycerides, and phosphorus were increased during the fattening periods (p < 0.05). The carcass weight, longissimus muscle area and back-fat thickness were low in the long fed IRG silage group (p < 0.05). The IRG diet induced saturated fatty acids in the longissimus dorsi (p < 0.05). These results show that the IRG diet increased the serum triglycerides but reduced the glucose level at the final fattening diet and decreased the meat yield score in Hanwoo steers.