ABSTRACT
BEEF PRODUCTION BASED ON AN IRRIGATED PASTURE MIXTURE AND AUTUMN-BORN HOLSTEIN STEERS

Germán Klee G1.e Ignacio Ruiz N.2
 

During the years 1974 and 1976, an experiment was carried out at Human Subexperiment Station, Los Angeles, to develop a beef production system, using 6.5 month old European x American Holstein autumn-born calves. Feeding regime depended exclusively on a irrigated pasture mixture of Ladino white clover, perennial ryegrass and orchardgrass, used for grazing as well as for hay harvesting.
It was shown the feasibility to produce a slaughter steer (500 Kg of liveweight) at 24 month old with a feeding regime based exclusively on grazing and hay from the same pasture.
Steers reached liveweights of 132; 255; 315 and 493 Kg at 6.5 - 14 -17.5 and 24 months of age, respectively. This means that the daily gains should be 0.55; 0.52 and 0.87 Kg/steer, during the first grazing, second winter and second grazing, respectively. Liveweight output per hectare reached a value of 772 Kg/year and the average stocking rate, in terms of 500 Kg liveweight-animal units, was 2.5 A.U/ha/year.

Keywords:
1Ing. Agr., Programa Producción de Carne Bovina, Subestación Experimental Humán, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), Casilla 767, Los Angeles, Chile.
2Ing. Agr., Ph. D., Programa Producción de Carne Bovina, Estación Experimental Quilamapu (INIA), Casilla 426, Chillán, Chile.