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6-X-.
Everglades Station Mimeo Report EES67-4 September, 1966
BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES WITH AND WITHOUT
ADDITIVES FOR BEEF COWS
H. L. Chapman, Jr., R. W. Kidder, and C. E. Hainesl-/
During recent years the production of blackstrap molasses in Florida has
increased greatly. Blackstrap molasses is a good source of available energy and
has a number of other advantages when used as a feed for beef cattle. A recent
report presents information concerning the various grades of blacksta p molasses
and the feeding value of mill-run blackstrap molasses for beef cows.-
One of the advantages of blackstrap molasses for feeding is that it is a good
vehicle for carrying other supplementary materials, such as urea, vitamins,
minerals, drugs, or liquid fats. The purpose of the experiment presented in this
report is to determine if the addition of vitamin A, phenothiazine, or certain
materials would increase the feeding value of mill-run blackstrap molasses when
fed to beef cows during the winter.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Approximately 900 brood cows, belonging to the Glades Correctional Institution,
were divided into eight herds of more than 100 cows each on the basis of age,
relative productivity, and breeding. These cows were the foundation of a cross-
breeding experiment in which four of the herds were bred to Angus sires and four
to Brangus sires.
The herds for each sire classification were exposed to one of four different
molasses treatments as shown in table 1.
Each of the herds of cattle was maintained on a pasture of approximately 80
acres comprised primarily of Roselawn St. Augustinegrass with some common Bermuda-
grass, Bahiagrass (both Argentine and Pensacola) and ryegrass during the winter.
All cows had free access to an approved mineral mixture at all times.
1/ Acknowledgment is made to the U. S. Sugar Corp., Clewiston, Fla.; Chas. Pfizer
and Co., Terre Haute, Ind.; Atomic Basic Chemicals Corp., Pittsburg, Pa.; and
Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corp., Richmond, Va. for their support of this
experiment. Experimental animals were furnished by the Glades Correctional
Institution, Belle Glade, Fla. Many other persons assisted including D. W.
Beardsley and J. A. Winchester of Everglades Experiment Station; A. Raulerson
and G. Curlee of Glades Correctional Institution, Belle Glade, Fla.; M. Koger,
A. C. Warnick, R. L. Shirley, and E. C. Neal of the University of Florida,
Gainesville, Fla.
2/ Ahiial Nutritionist and Head, Range Cattle Station; Animal Husbandman and
Associate Animal Husbandman, Everglades Station, respectively.
3/ Florida Agriculture Experiment Station Bulletin 701.
-2--
Table l.--Experimental design of molasses experiment.
Treatment
groups Supplemental feed*
Angus Brangus
bulls bulls
1 1 Blackstrap molasses
2 2 Blackstrap molasses + vitamin A
3 Blackstrap molasses + minerals
S4 Blackstrap molasses + minerals + phenothiazine
* Blackstrap molasses used in.this experiment had a guaranteed analysis of not
less than 7 percent crude protein, not more than 10 percent ash and not less
than 85 Brix. Vitamin A was added to contain 6,250 I.U. of vitamin a
palmitate per pound of molasses. Minerals added were phosphorus at the rate
of 20 pounds of 80 percent food grade phosphoric acid, copper at the rate of
0.25 pound of copper sulfate, and cobalt at the rate of 2 grams of cobalt
sulfate per ton of molasses. Phenothiazine of 608 micron size was added at
the rate of 850 grams of NF grade phenothiazine per ton of molasses.
Molasses was provided at the daily rate of 4.0 pounds per adult animal for
about 180 days beginning in December, except for the first winter in which the
feeding period began in February 1962. Data from three winter periods have been
summarized for this report.
Records were compiled on annual cow weights, pregnancy rates, weaning percent,
weaning weight and grade of calves, chemical analyses of forage, blood and liver
tissue, internal parasite determinations from fecal samples and from the gastro-
intestinal tract of slaughtered animals.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The average weaning weight and grade of calves for the entire experiment are
shcwn in table 2.
Table 2.--Summary of weaning weight, grade, and average daily gain of calves for
3 years by treatment (sire groups combined).
Average
Market grade* Weaning 205-Day daily
Treatment Sltr Fdr weight weight gain
number (lbs) (Tb) (Ibs
1 7.8 10.3 419 341 1.49
2 7.8 10.5 423 346 1.51
3 7.6 10.3 418 343 1.50
4 7.4 10.1 400 330 1.44
* Slaughter and feeder grades are as follows:
(a) 6 7 8 = low, medium, high standard,
(b) 9 10 11 = low, medium, high good.
-3-
There was considerable variationin' the weaning weights of calves from year to
year and also between treatment groups. These variations are illustrated in
table 3.
Table 3.--205-day adjusted weaning weight for each year compared with 3-year average.
Treatment 1963 1964 1965 3-year average
__groups (lbs) (lbs) (lbs) (Ibs)
Angus bulls 1 316 336 320 324
2 318 376 280 325
3 331 336 307 325
4 347 316 311 325
Brangus bulls 1 348 342 371 354
2 365 364 356 362
3 350 357 373 360
4 302 332 366 333
There were no treatment differences that were consistent throughout the experiment
although there were trends that warrant further study. For example, calves from
cows receiving vitamin A-supplemented molasses (Treatment 2) were heavier at
weaning than those from cows receiving plain molasses during the first two years
of the study but not during the third year. Reciprocally, cows fed the
phenothiazine-supplemented molasses (Treatment 4) weaned smaller calves than those
receiving plain molasses in every instance except for those bred to Angus bulls
during the first year.
Individual weights of cows in each group were recorded in September to obtain
starting and finishing weights for each of the three years. The average weight
of cows which were in the experiment for the entire 3 years are presented in table
4. There were variations in average weight of these cows from year to year with
some small differences in the increase in average weight during the experiment.
All of the cows bred to Angus bulls remained fairly constant in body weight with
the greatest change occurring in a seven-pound increase for the cows receiving
the mineral-fortified molasses. There was greater change in body weight by the
cows bred to Brangus bulls. The cows receiving straight molasses remained
relatively constant in body weight while those on the various fortified molasses
treatments made an average gain of from 10 to 15 pounds while on the experiment.
The pregnancy rate of the cows was determined by rectal palpation 60 to 80
days following removal of bulls from the breeding herds. The results are
summarized in table 5. First exposure heifers were not included in these data
since it was not possible to raise them on the various experimental treatments.
Cows bred to Angus bulls had a higher conception rate on the various fortif:.Id-
molasses products than on straight molasses. This difference for the overall
average for the experiment was from 5 to 7 percent with longer variations
occurring in 1963 and 1965. In the herd bred by Brangus bulls, there was 2
percent or less variation between groups in the overall average. When all cattle
in each treatment were grouped together the cows receiving the fortified molasses
had a 2 percent higher pregnancy rate than bhose on strea.ght molasses.
Table 4.--Average weight in pounds of cows.
Treatment Year Increase for
groups 1962 1963 .1964 1965 experiment
Angus bulls
1-- 832 840 822 830 2
2 850 872 896. 847 3
.3 854 858 846 861 + 7
4 831 870 825 830 1
Brangus bulls
1 857 899 905 854 3
2 850 847 878 860 + 10
3 858 873 821 870 + 12
4 863 791 892 877 + 14
Overall average by years
1 846 875 871 844 2
2 848 857 885 855 + 7
3 856 867 831 866 + 10
4 846 834 856 851 + 5
Table 5.--Average percent conception of cows determined by palpation for pregnancy.
Treatment Year Average for
groups 1963 1964 1965 experiment
Angus bulls
1 86 87 74 82
2 92 91 78 87
3 96 86 83 88
4 96 93 77 89
Brangus bulls
1 92 94 87 91
2 91 88 93 91
3 86 88 94 89
4 86 88 96 90
Overall average by years
1 89 91 81 87
2 92 89 81 89
3 91 87 88 89
4 91 90 86 89
Table 6.--Chemical analyses of forage samples by
Dry Crude Crude Ether Nitrate
matter protein fiber extract Ash Molybdenum Copper nitrogen Phosphorus
N() M(9) (4) M() (0) (ppm)I (ppm)) (I) .)
2-20-63
4-15-63
5-20-63
6-17-63
7-15-63
8-19-63
9-16-63
10-21-63
11-18-63
12-18-63
1-20-64
,2-27-64
at 3-16-64
4-20-64
8-13-64
9-21-64
10-22-64
11-10-64
12-22-64
1-18-65
2-16-65
3-17-65
4-26-65
46.9
29.9
27.8
47.4
20.5
20.7
22.2
25.9
27.0
25.8
39.6
40.1
46.1
35.0
24.9
23.1
27.1
27.4
28.1
38.0
63.2
72.9
30.8
12.4
13.8
14.2
14.8
13.6
13.7
12.3
11.9
11.2
11.5
11.4
12.9
13.7
13.7
11.6
10.6
10.4
11.6
11.8
12.8
14.8
14.5
15.3
31.6
28.4
28.7
29.3
31.9
31.7
29.5
30.3
30.8
31.5.
30.4:
29.6
30.3
28.5
29.4
31.1
30.7
30.7
30.4
26.9
29.8
29.7
26.2
1.6
2.3
3.4
2.7
3.1
2.7
2.2
3.4
3.6
1.6
3.5
2.2
1.6
3.0
3.4
2.0
1.5
1.4
2.3
2.8
2.4
2.4
3.0
5.7
7.9
8.3
9.1
8.7
9.2
11.8
8.5
7.8
7.3
6.2
6.7
6.9
6.2
9.0
8.5
8.2
7.9
8.5
7.8
5.3
4.5
7.6
4.2
3.5
3.4
2.9
3.1
3.1
3.3
3.4
3.1
3.2
3.5
3.5
3.9
3.7
3.8
4.0
3.9
3.0
3.3
3.6
4.1
3.9
18.2
15.1
13.8
12.3
11.7
10.6
9.9
11.4
10.5
10.8
10.7
10.0
8.8
9.8
8.5
9.1
10.0
9.1
10.5
10.7
10.5
9.1
10.5
0.36
0.46
0.41
0.49
0.46
0.43
0.66
0.70
0.54
0.56
0.37
0.39
0.55
0.37
0.35
0.36
0.44
0.50
0.50
0.69
0.55
1.11
0.36
0.32
0.30
0.28
0.27
0.25
0.25
0.24
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.24
0.24
0.25
0.26
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.26
0.24
0.26
0.26
0.24
0.25
1/ Each figure is an average of 8 pastures. All values except percent dry matter are reported on a dry
weight basis.
dates-; .
-6-
Forage samples were obtained once a month from February 1963, through April
1965, from each of the eight pastures. The average chemical analysis of these
samples is shown in table 6, and indicated that there was considerable variation
in the analytical results for these forage samples. At different times of the
year, there were differences in the forage in the amount of dry matter, crude
protein, crude fiber, ether extract, ash and copper. Molybdenum and phosphorus
levels remained fairly constant throughout the feeding period. Nitrate nitrogen
level in the forage was fairly constant except for one pasture in which ryegrass
was grazed during the winter of 1965. Levels of dry matter, ash, nitrate nitrogen,
crude fiber and crude protein were different between pastures. However, there
was no differences in the level of molybdenum, phosphorus, iron, or copper between
the pastures.
Liver biopsy samples were taken on four occasions during the experiment, as
shown in table 7. Liver tissue analyses for copper and iron indicate whether or
not the animals are receiving adequate copper for normal performance. While
there were variations in these analytical results, most of the values are considered
to be within a normal range. It was not possible to relate changes in the levels
C copper and iron in the liver to the experimental treatments.
Table 7.--Analyses of liver tissue (ppm).
Treatment groups
Angus bulls Brangus bulls
Date 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4-
Copper
10-30-62 -- --. -- --117 --- 117 ---
11-29-62 146 98 --- 89 -- -.- 54
5- 6-63 78 104 89 91 110 106 110 78
10-20-64 157 132 120 123 171 190 68 135
Iron
10-30-62 --- --. 472 --- 663 ---
11-29-62 392 303 -- --- 385 --- --- 348
5- 6-63 441 600 586 486 625 604 560 430
10-20-64 586 451 454 403 705 578 1088 705
Blood samples, secured on four occasions, were analyzed for hemoglobin, packed
cell volume, inorganic plasma, phosphorus and total blood copper. Each of these
measurements, shown in table 8, seemed to remain normal throughout the feeding
trial. The slight variations in these data could not be related to the experi-
mental treatments.
Table 8.--Analysis of blood samples.
Treatment groups
Angus bulls Brangus bulls
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Hemoglobin (mg/100 ml)
10-30-62 ---- ---- --- ---- 12.3 12.2 12.5 11.7
11-29-62 12.7 12.4 -- 11.9 ---- ---- 13.5
5- 6-63 10.5 12.2 12.0 11.8 11.1 11.2 11.6 11.9
10-20-64 13.0 11.7 12.1 14.0 12.4 12.0 11.0 12.1
Packed cell volume (M)
10-30-62 --- -- --- ---- 46.9 50.9 49.1 49.0
11-29-62 51.3 57.5 ---- ---- 53.7 ---- ---- 54.0
5- 6-63 47.9 47.3 45.1 47.3 54.4 48.1 48.5 49.0
10-20-64 48.4 47.4 49.7 58.9 50.1 49.8 47.6 44.4
Inorganic plasma phosphorus (mg/100 ml)
10-30-62 ---- ---- ---- 5.39 4.60 4.4o 5.4o
11-29-62 5.12 4.99 ---- ---- 5.08 ---- ---- 5.37
5- 6-63 4.71 4.77 4.78 5.08 4.71 4.91 4.78 4.87
10-20-64 4.85 5.13 5.19 5.78 5.21 5.09 5.19 5.00
Total blood copper (mcg/ml)
10-30-62 ---- ---- ---- ---- 0.63 0.62 0.47 0.57
11-29-62 0.78 0.69 ---- ---- 0.52 ---- ---- 0.65
5- 6-63 0.67 0.66 0.65 0.70 0.65 0.72 0.65 0.63
10-20-64 0.76 0.51 0.61 0.48 0.74 0.73 0.62 0.66
-8-
To determine the effect on control of internal parasites of phenothiazine-
fortified molasses, -during the first year's feeding period, 20 cull heifers were
divided between treatments 1 and 4. At the conclusion of this period, these
heifers were slaughtered and the complete gastro-intestinal tract of each heifer
was examined for internal parasites. The results of this examination are shown
in table 9.
Table 9.--Parasite observations on gastro-intestinal tracts
1963).
Heifer
number
Pathology of parasite
origin (Intest. Lining)
Number
Haemon-
chus
of heifers (May 9,
of worms recovered
Oster- Cooperia
tagia
Angus bulls
40
51
53
103
111
Brangus.bulls
52 Li
153 Li
173 Mc
200 Ve
206 O
Angus bulls
5 LJ
9 Fe
26 LJ
63 Me
230 LJ
Brangus bulls
82 L
220 F
224 F
226 H(
Heavy Ostertagia Light nodular 0
Very heavy nodular 0
Moderate to heavy nodular 150
Few Ostertagia Moderate nodular 0
Heavy nodular. 700
eight nodular 0
Lght nodular 50
derate nodular 0
ery light nodular 0
stertagia cysts Few nodular 750
Total 1650
Average 165
eight nodular
w nodular
eight nodular
deratee to heavy nodular
eight nodular
eight Ostertagia Light nodular 0
aw nodular 200
ew Ostertagia Moderate nodular 0
heavy Ostertagia Light nodular 0
Total 250
Average 28
Treatment
* ] Xops .
0
4oo
0
0
50
0
0
0
0
50
500
:50
0
0
0
50
50
0
0
50
0
o
150
17
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
0
0
450
550
61
''
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The overall parasite incidence was rather low with a number of the heifers
having no Haemonchus, Ostertagia, or Cooperia worms present in their gastro-
intestinal tracts. The heifers that had received the phenothiazine-mineral-
molasses had less Haemonchus and Ostertagia than those receiving the straight
molasses but they also had more Cooperia. Additional research is needed to
further evaluate these differences since the overall infestation of parasites
was rather light.
To further evaluate the effects of low level phenothiazine in the ration,
fecal samples were taken at the start and finish of each of the first two years
of the feeding trial. Parasitic level expressed as "eggs per gram" (EPG) of
feces indicated that the animals were not heavily infested with parasites. The
EPG counts were not lowered by the phenothiazine-mineral-molasses, probably
because of the initial low level of infestation.
Observations were made on two different dates during the third winter to
determine if the phenothiazine-mineral-molasses had any effect upon the number
of horn flies present on the cattle. On both occasions the incidence of flies
was above 25 flies per cow in all herds, indicating there was no recognizable
horn fly control from this molasses product when it was fed on a seasonal basis.
Occasional spraying for horn fly control was followed in all herds throughout
the experiment.
SUMMARY
The results of a three-year study to determine the merits of adding vitamin
A, a mineral mixture, and phenothiazine with minerals as supplements to blackstrap
molasses are presented.
Records are shown of weaning weights and grades of calves; annual weights
of cows; chemical analysis of pasture forage, blood and liver tissue; and
internal parasite counts from slaughtered cattle and from fecal samples.
There was no consistent advantage of one treatment over another, although
there were variations from year to year in some of the data secured.
EES67-4
400 copies
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