Impacts of including sprouted barley in the ration on feedlot performance and carcass traits of Angus steers

Controlled-environment systems that sprout cereal grains may help address challenges like drought and land loss, yet their application in finishing beef diets remains unstudied. This study utilized Angus steers stratified by weight (385 kg ± 10.3) into two groups (n = 30/group). The control (CON) diet was a traditional finishing ration for the Intermountain West, while the other had 20 % dry matter (DM) sprouted barley (SB). Animals were fed for 128 d in pens with Vytelle units to measure intake and feeding behavior. Collection of performance metrics were assessed on d 0, 30, 60, 90, and 128, while all carcass traits were collected on d 128 at harvest. Using the observed production data and historical prices, economic metrics were calculated. Steers fed SB had decreased (P < 0.0001) dry matter intake (DMI) over the study. There was a diet×day (P = 0.004) observed for G:F. Total ruminal volatile fatty acid (mM; VFA) was impacted by diet×day (P = 0.007) , and steers fed SB had an increased (P = 0.03) USDAYG. Steers receiving CON had decreased (P < 0.0001) , total feed costs (TFC), cost of gain (COG) (P = 0.002), feed conversion to hot carcass weight (FC/kg HCW; P < 0.0001) , and feed conversion to marbling score (FC/MS; P = 0.002) , while CON also had increased net return (NR; P = 0.002) compared to SB. When sprouted barley is included in the diets of finishing beef cattle, it maintains growth performance and carcass quality, although its economic viability remains uncertain.