Soybean grain is a suitable replacement with soybean meal in multiple supplements for Nellore heifers grazing tropical pastures

Abstract

The research aimed to evaluate the effect of replacing soybean meal with soybean grain on the nutritional parameters and productivity of heifers grazing on Urochloa decumbens in the rainy-dry transition period. Forty crossbred heifers with the initial age and weight of 18 months and 292 ± 6.1 kg, respectively, were used. The experimental design was a completely randomized design, with five treatments and eight replications. The evaluated treatments were as follows: SM0.5—supply of 0.5 kg/animal/day of soybean meal supplement; SG0.5—supply of 0.5 kg/animal/day of soybean grain supplement; SM1.0—supply of 1.0 kg/animal/day of soybean meal supplement; SG1.0—supply of 1.0 kg/animal/day of soybean grain supplement; MM—only mineral mix ad libitum. The supplement was isoprotein with 350 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter. Supplementation improved the performance of the heifers and this fact can be verified by the higher average daily gain (ADG) and final BW (fBW) of the supplemented animals (P < 0.10). The two supplemented treatments with 1 kg/day demonstrated similar performance (P > 0.10), the same happens for the two treatments receiving 0.5 kg/day (P > 0.10). However, animals receiving 1 kg/day of supplementation had an ADG and final BW higher than animals receiving 0.5 kg/day (P < 0.10). Supplementation (P < 0.10) affected the intake of dry matter (DM), organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, non-fiber carbohydrates, total digestible nutrients, and neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein (apNDF). Supplementation improved DM digestibility and all constituents of the diet (P < 0.10), except for apNDF (P > 0.10). In summary, it is concluded that multiple supplementations improve the performance of grazing heifers in the rainy-dry transition period and the total replacement of soybean meal by soybean grain does not alter the performance of the animals.