| Different patterns of nutrition during pregnancy and lactation can influence cow productivity and the performance of their offspring. An experiment was conducted on the North Coast of NSW whereby “low” and “high” pasture nutritional systems were imposed on a herd of Hereford cows during pregnancy, and then again from birth to weaning, with a crossover design also imposed to select offspring with extremes of growth to birth and/or weaning. Thus, four growth groups resulted – low-low, low-high, high-low, and high-high. Piedmontese and Wagyu bulls were used. After weaning, these offspring were grown out on the NSW Northern Tablelands and then finished to heavy market weights in a feedlot. The results of the experiment indicated that restricted early-life... |
