Influence of dietary crude protein content on fattening performance and nitrogen excretion of Holstein steers

The objective was to investigate the influence of crude protein (CP) content in a fattening diet on feed intake, body weight gain, nitrogen excretion, and carcass traits in Holstein steers. Steers (initial body weight 241 +/- 26 kg) consumed feed with the following CP content: (a) 17.7% during the early period (from 7 to 10 months of age) and 13.9% during the late period (from 11 to 18 months of age) (HIGH, n = 3), and (b) 16.2% during the early period and 12.2% during the late period (LOW, n = 4). The CP intake was lower in the LOW than the HIGH group. Urinary and total nitrogen excretion in the late period tended to be lower (p <.10) in the LOW than the HIGH group. However, growth performance and carcass traits were not affected by dietary CP content. Free histidine and total amino acid contents in the longissimus thoracis muscle tended to be higher (p <.10) in the HIGH than the LOW group, however, the CP contents were not affected by dietary CP content. The results of this experiment suggest that decreasing dietary CP to 16% (early period) or 12% (late period) of dry matter would reduce nitrogen excretion from Holstein fattening farms without affecting productivity.