A case where woody roughage made from Japanese white birch had an effect on the fattening of Japanese Black

<p>Woody roughage produced from Japanese white birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica) in response to high-temperature/high-pressure steam treatment was assessed for application in the fattening of Japanese Black cattle. We found that whereas the average carcass weight of six cattle fed fermented bagasse and rice straw as a conventional roughage was 437 kg, that of six cattle fed woody roughage instead of fermented bagasse was 472 kg (P<0.10). However, the average carcass weight of five cattle fed twice the amount of woody roughage was 451 kg, which was not significantly different from that of cattle fed the conventional roughage. In this assessment, we detected no significant difference in the fatty acid composition of the chest M. longissimus thoracis, or in other traits associated with meat quality. Similarly, no significant difference was detected in the daily gain of cattle fed the conventional and woody roughage feeds for approximately the first 10 months of fattening. Moreover, blood tests and medical examinations performed during this period revealed no health problems among the assessed cattle. At approximately 10 months following the commencement of fattening, the fecal solids of cattle fed the conventional and woody roughage and feed were 0.89 and 1.13 times, respectively (P<0.05). Furthermore, the rumination times of cattle fed woody roughage (301 min/day) trended to be longer than those of cattle fed the conventional roughage (333 min/day) (P<0.10). We also assessed the effect of switching the fermented bagasse diet of the entire ranch to woody roughage, and compared the carcass performance of 50 Japanese Black fattening cattle before and after switching. We accordingly detected improvements in four of the seven assessed major grading traits. The average carcass weights before and after switching were 443 kg and 464 kg, respectively, and an increase in carcass weight was confirmed even when age and breeding value were taken into consideration (P<0.05).</p>