Impact of Feeding Palm Oil to Finishing Cattle on Performance, Carcass, and Meat Characteristics

Summary with Implications This finishing study evaluated the effect of feeding palm oil products on performance and carcass characteristics, and beef quality measures. Dietary treatments included no supplemental fat or feeding: crude palm oil, crude high-oleic palm oil (HOPO), refined, bleached, and de-odorized palm olein oil (RBD olein), or tallow. Supplemental fat was included at 3.5% of diet dry matter. Cattle fed diets containing supplemental fat had improved feed conversion compared to no supplemental fat. Feeding cattle crude palm oil resulted in improved F:G compared to cattle fed RBD olein, with steers fed tallow and crude HOPO being intermediate and not being different from crude palm or RBD olein. There were no differences in carcass characteristics. Feeding palm oil products could offer cost-effective alternatives to traditional fat supplementation.