Fabio Montossi

Previous studies on winter supplementation of growing cattle grazing stockpiled native Campos grasslands suggest that forage allowance (FA), herbage mass, and weather conditions before and during the supplementation period could all affect supplement feed efficiency (SFE)—that is, the difference or change in average daily gain (ADG) between supplemented (S) and control (C) animals (ADGchng, kg) per unit (kg) of supplement dry matter (DM) intake. In this study, we analyse data from fifteen collated winter supplementation trials carried out in Uruguay between 2004 and 2018. The working hypotheses of this research paper were: (i) that average substitution rates are positive, and (ii) that ADGchng is not constant throughout the supplementation period and that its variation may be attributed to sward, animal or weather variables. There were two main objectives: (i) to estimate the average supplement substitution rate (sSbR, kg forage, f, dry matter, DM intake reduction: kg supplement DM ...

This study reports genetic parameters for yearling and adult wool and growth traits, and ewe reproductive performance. Data were sourced from an Uruguayan Merino flock involved in a long-term selection program focused on reduced fibre diameter (FD), and increased clean fleece weight (CFW) and live weight (LW). Pedigree and performance data from approximately 5,700 mixed-sex yearling lambs and 2,000 mixed-age ewes born between 1999 and 2019 were analysed. The number of records ranged from 1,267 to 5,738 for yearling traits, and from 1,931 to 7,079 for ewe productive and reproductive performance. Data on yearling and adult wool traits, LW and body condition score (BCS), yearling eye muscle area (Y_EMA), and fat thickness (Y_FAT), and several reproduction traits were analysed. The genetic relationships between FD and reproduction traits were not different from zero. Moderate unfavourable genetic correlations were found between adult CFW and ewe lifetime reproduction traits (-0.34 ± 0.0...

Existen crecientes preocupaciones de la sociedad por el consumo de productos animales y textiles que hayan sido producidos y transformados en una forma sostenible. Esta tendencia influye en el consumidor al tomar la decision de compra, particularmente en los paises desarrollados.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of nutritional management during rearing and finishing phases on beef fatty acid composition, and carcass and beef quality traits of Hereford cattle. The study used 240 castrated male calves weaned at 8 months of age, and with an average weight of 170 ± 17 kg. After weaning, the experiment was divided in to three phases in a 4 × 2 factorial design: a 93-day winter period with four treatment groups (on pasture or in feedlot and at high or low feeding levels); a 196-day compensatory-growth phase on pasture; and a finishing phase either on pasture or in feedlot. Animals were slaughtered when each group attained a mean liveweight of 500 kg. The winter growth × finishing management interaction significantly affected hot carcass weight (P = 0.0029). There was no differences observed for feedlot-finished steers, but for pasture-finished steers, those pasture-reared had higher hot carcass weight (kg) than those feedlot-reared (low pastu...

As part of an international project, the consumer acceptance of Uruguayan and German beef and lamb was examined. Two groups of consumers from two German district towns (Kulmbach, Vechta - n = 100 each) were consulted. The meat samples originated from the respective breeds prevailing in each country, and from pasturing (Uruguay) or from high level feeding (Germany). Between the consumer judgments about Uruguayan and German samples, no salient differences exist if the meat is sufficiently aged. The lamb was judged surprisingly well, although 65% of the consumers indicated, never to consume lamb. Ageing for 20 days is essential particularly for beef, since the consumers detected a significant reduction in quality after a seven days ageing period. Noticeably, higher fat content was linked with better sensory classification at both meat types. Cluster analyses of judgements revealed that the overall acceptability of beef depends more on tenderness; in the case of lamb, it is determined more by flavour. According to age groups, the consumers evaluated the samples significantly different: The group of elderly rated more tolerantly than the other groups.

En el ámbito de la Mesa Tecnológica de las Cadenas de Carne Ovina y Lana se discutió la necesidad de analizar la equivalencia ganadera ovino/bovino ante la inquietud planteada por un grupo de productores ovinos y técnicos referentes de que éstas no reflejaban la realidad de los sistemas en términos productivos y económicos. Con la necesidad sentida de revisar dicho coeficiente, en su momento se conformó una comisión interinstitucional que produjo avances en este sentido aunque sin llegar a una recomendación técnica acordada. En diciembre de 2010 se retomaron actividades. El presente documento fue elaborado por un grupo integrado por técnicos de distintas organizaciones (Dirección de Investigaciones Económicas Agropecuarias del Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca, Facultad de Agronomía, Facultad de Veterinaria, FUCREA, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria, Instituto Plan Agropecuario y Secretariado Uruguayo de la Lana) habiendo intervenido en la discusión y la fo...

se describen los posibles beneficios productivos y reproductivos de implementar la esquila du-rante las diferentes fases de la gestación de la oveja. La adopción de la esquila preparto temprana, por sí misma no necesariamente implica un incremento en la eficiencia reproductiva en el sistema de producción. El lograr una mejora, en un gran número de casos, esta íntimamente relacionado al con-texto donde esta nueva tecnología se va a insertar. La esquila preparto per se no nece-sariamente mejorará los índices productivos y reproductivos, sino el éxito de implementar esta herramienta dependerá de la aplicación de un paquete tecnológico integral, asocia-do a un correcto manejo de los animales y las pasturas, que en conjunto con la esquila levanten las restricciones identificadas en el sistema productivo. Existen numerosas alternativas al mo-mento de implementar la esquila preparto en un sistema de producción (tipo de peine, uso de capas, base forrajera, razas puras, cru-zamientos, etc.)....

Introducción En las condiciones pastoriles del Uruguay el momento crítico para la recría de bovinos es el invierno, donde el clima y el bajo crecimiento de las pasturas no permiten obtener ganancias de peso adecuadas en los animales. El objetivo de este trabajo fue cuantificar el efecto de diferentes ganancias diarias de peso durante el primer invierno (GDPI) y la utilización de padres con distinta diferencia esperada en la progenie para área de ojo del bife (EPD_AOB) sobre la ganancia diaria de peso (GD) y la duración de las etapas de recría y terminación. Materiales y métodos La información proviene de un experimento realizado entre los años 2012 y 2014 en INIA La Estanzuela, Colonia, Uruguay. Fueron utilizados 95 terneros Hereford hijos de 8 padres seleccionados por su EPD_AOB. El diseño experimental fue de bloques completos al azar con dos repeticiones, en un arreglo factorial 2*2, con dos GDPI (baja: 211g/día y alta 563 g/día) y dos grupos de EPD_AOB para los padres (Alta y Pro...

Los sistemas mixtos de arroz-ganade-ría del Uruguay se han desarrollado como una opción de intensificación del cultivo y de la producción ganadera, en un primera etapa en el Este del país y después hacia el Norte del mismo, por lo cual se debieron ajus-tar las cadenas forrajeras y la producción animal en un esquema agrícola diferente a los que se aplicaban anteriormente (arroz por dos años consecutivos y luego cuatro años de campo regenerado). La intensificación de la producción conlleva nuevos desafíos en cuanto a lograr la estabilidad y sustentabili-dad en el largo plazo de dichos sistemas de producción, para lo cual es imprescindible la optimización del uso de los recursos invo-lucrados tanto en el rubro vegetal como animal. En este contexto, INIA ha desarrollado una propuesta tecnológica de valor estraté-gico en el Este del país, con la utilización de «laboreos de verano» para intensificar la producción ganadera a través de la incorpo-ración del engorde de corderos pesados. Esta...

La productividad de la cría vacuna depen-de del porcentaje de destete, del peso al destete de los terneros y de la dotación animal por unidad de superficie. La base nutricional de los sistemas criadores es el campo natural, que tiene fluctuaciones estacionales en la disponibilidad y calidad del forraje (Berretta et al., 2000). La esta-ción con la mayor variación en la producción de forraje es el verano (Berretta et al., 2000), la cual coincide con eventos claves en el ci-clo productivo del rodeo de cría: el entore y el período pre-destete. Por tanto, la aplica-ción de estrategias que aumenten la dispo-nibilidad de nutrientes para la unidad vaca-ternero en este período podrán incrementar la productividad del sistema. La optimización de la productividad de los sistemas criadores extensivos depende de la utilización eficiente del forraje disponible (Bagley et al.,1987b). Sin embargo, el uso de altas dotaciones por unidad de superficie podrían provocan un efecto negativo sobre el peso a...

Livestock production has traditionally prevailed on the grassland ecosystems of the pampas region of South America. However, the global increase in crops prices is having a mayor impact on land use and farming practices. More than 1 million hectares of virgin land per year were taken for cropping, in the last 40 years. Leading by soybean farming the Southern Cone of Latin America was responsible for more than 40% of the increase in world cropping area, The best soils have moved up from livestock production to cropping, leaving the marginal ones to animal production. Uruguay is in the geographic center of the region and additionally has a large growth of forestry plantations which displaced 10% of the livestock production area since 1990. As a result, land price has increased approximately 2.8 times in the last 5 years. Beef prices are increasing and meat demand appears to be strong and high priced in the near future, promoting the increase in production even on marginal and fragile ...

The mating of related animals in a closed population is inevitable, leading to accumulation of inbreeding and decreased genetic diversity, and can result in a decrease in animal production and reproduction. In the present work, is studied the application of a simple method to inbreeding control in a semi-closed selection nucleus of Merino sheep (NFG) to fine and superfine wool production. It is compared the increase in inbreeding coefficients (%F) and in genetic progress for a selection index (Ind), average fiber diameter (AFD), clean fleece weight (CFW) and yearly body weight (YBW), in the NFG and in the total of the evaluated population without the NFG (Population). To calculate %F, two algorithms were used: Wright (W) and Van Raden (VR). The annual increase of the average %F in NFG was similar to the population, and of low magnitude (less than 0.1% annual). The genetic progress for AFD, CFW, YBW and Ind was -0.234 microns, 0.001 kg, 0.186 kg and 3.82 points for NFG, respectively;...

Ya pasaron 16 años desde la última puesta a punto realizada por el equipo de investigadores de INIA, con propuestas tecnológicas para mejorar la eficiencia pro-ductiva y la competitividad de los sistemas ganaderos del Basalto (Berretta, 1998). Durante ese período INIA tuvo que repensar el enfoque de sus proyectos de investigación, considerando los profundos cambios en el entorno nacional y mundial, con importantes transformaciones en los sistemas pro-ductivos, así como en las cadenas de valor ganaderas. Estos elementos adquieren aún mayor relevancia por el hecho que la producción ganadera tiene como principa-les clientes a consumidores exigentes, ubicados en más de 100 diferentes mercados. Dentro de los cambios ocurridos a nivel de los consu-midores, entre otros, se destacan: impacto ambiental de los sistemas de producción, bienestar y sanidad animal , seguridad alimentaria, calidad, consistencia, dife-renciación, continuidad de la oferta del producto, salud humana, atributos culina...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation frequency with rice bran concentrate on calves performance grazing on a cultivated pasture and their subsequent effect on carcass quality traits. Forty Hereford calves (184.0 kg live weight; LW) were randomly assigned to four treatments (T) as a result of the combination of a unique forage allowance (FA 2.5%LW) and three supplementation frequencies (S; 0.8 % LW, unique supplementation level) but distributed different during the week in the winter period, where: T1=FA 2.5% LW (control), T2=FA 2.5% LW plus S everyday (ED), T3=FA 2.5% LW plus S from Monday to Friday (MtF) and T4=FA 2.5% LW plus S every other day (EOD). At the beginning of the experiment, the animals did not show significant differences (P>0.05) in LW between T. At the end of the supplementation period lower LW (P<0.05) was observed in T1 compared to the rest of T. The same trend was observed with the ultrasound measurements done of ribeye ...

The objective this work was to study the effect of different nutritional strategies on meat quality and fatty acid composition in cull cows in Uruguay. The experiment combined different levels of forage allowance (FA) grazing a winter crop (oat and ryegrass) and the use of a supplement (rice bran; RB), for 130 days. Forty Hereford cull cows (480 kg of live weight; LW) were randomly assigned to four treatments (T) as a result of combining two levels of forage allowance (FA) and supplementation: T1=FA 4 % LW, T2=FA 2% LW, T3=FA 2% LW + RB 0.8% LW and T4=FA 2% LW + RB 1.6 % LW. The content of intramuscular fat (IMF), tenderness, colour and ultimate pH of Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle aged for 7 and 14 days, were not affected by T (P>0.05). Linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) content was higher (P<0.01) in T receiving supplement (T3 and T4) and the opposite occurred for Linolenic acid (18:3 n-3) in T only based on pasture (T1 and T2). Similar trend was observed for long chain arachidonic (20...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different feeding strategies on meat quality traits and fatty acid composition of crossbred lambs (12% Corriedale x 88% Merino Dohne) in Uruguay. The experiment was carried out in summer on natural grasslands (NG) using three isoenergetic supplements (S; 2.9 MCal ME/kgDM) with three different crude protein (CP) contents (12, 16 and 20% CP). One single stocking rate was used (10 lambs/ha). Eighty crossbred lambs, with an initial average live weight (LW) of 28.5 ± 3.6 kg were randomly allotted to four treatments (T) with a single supplementation level (2% LW), being: T1=NG (control), T2=NG + S 12% CP, T3=NG + S 16% CP and T4=NG + 20 % CP. Ultimate pH and tenderness of the Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle at 5 and 10 days of aging were not affected by T (P>0.05). Meat colour parameters (L*, a* and b*) with 5 days of aging did not differ between T (P>0.05). Nonetheless, with 10 days of aging, L* decreased as the protein content ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different nutritional strategies on animal performance in vivo as well as carcass quality traits of crossbred lambs (88% Merino Dohne x 12% Corriedale) in Uruguay. The trial was carried out during the summer grazing on natural grasslands (NG) using an isoenergetic supplement (S; 2.9 MCal ME/kgDM) with different protein contents (PC; 12, 16 and 20%). Eighty crossbred lambs grazed on a single stocking rate (10 lambs/ha) with an initial average live weight (LW) 28.5 ± 3.6 kg. These were randomly allotted to four treatments (T) with a single supplementation level (2% LW) using three different protein content in the S, being: T1=NG (control), T2=NG + S 12% CP, T3=NG + S 16% CP and T4=NG + 20% CP. Once the experimental period was over, all animals grazed on an annual winter crop until they reached slaughter weight. At the beginning of the trial, animals presented similar LW (P>0.01). However, after the supplementation period, la...

Introducción La ganadería bovina nacional ha enfrentado dos décadas de importantes cambios productivos, industriales y comerciales, con un fuerte crecimiento e incremento en su eficiencia y competitividad (Montossi y Soares de Lima, 2011). Actualmente, el stock ganadero alcanza 11,7 millones de cabezas (DIEA, 2010), habiéndose mantenido relativamente constante en los últimos años pese a la reducción ocurrida en el área dedicada a la recría y engorde de ganado y/o el desplazamiento de esta actividad a los suelos de menor potencial productivo. Los sistemas de producción de bovinos para carne en el país varían desde un manejo extensivo sobre pastizales naturales hasta un sistema intensivo que pueden llegar al uso del confinamiento. Los nuevos acuerdos comerciales logrados a nivel internacional con la cuota de calidad de la UE, posicionan al Uruguay como un potencial abastecedor de la misma. Recientemente Uruguay consiguió, junto a EEUU, Canadá, Nueva Zelanda y Australia, acceder a la c...