Preprint Communication Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Case study on the impact of water resources in beef production: corn vs. triticale silage in the diet of Limousine × Podolian young bulls

Carlo Cosentino
ORCID logo ,
Rosanna Paolino
* ,
Francesco Adduci
,
Simona Tarricone
ORCID logo ,
Corrado Pacelli
,
Emilio Sabia
ORCID logo ,
Pierangelo Freschi
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 9 October 2023 / Approved: 9 October 2023 / Online: 11 October 2023 (07:52:18 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Cosentino, C.; Paolino, R.; Adduci, F.; Tarricone, S.; Pacelli, C.; Sabia, E.; Freschi, P. Case Study on the Impact of Water Resources in Beef Production: Corn vs. Triticale Silage in the Diet of Limousine × Podolian Young Bulls. Animals 2023, 13, 3355. Cosentino, C.; Paolino, R.; Adduci, F.; Tarricone, S.; Pacelli, C.; Sabia, E.; Freschi, P. Case Study on the Impact of Water Resources in Beef Production: Corn vs. Triticale Silage in the Diet of Limousine × Podolian Young Bulls. Animals 2023, 13, 3355.

Abstract

In this study, we have included the water footprint (WF) in the process of optimising animal feed rations. The global footprint of cattle production accounts for the largest share (33%) of the global water footprint of livestock production. Using two homogeneous groups of Limousine Podolian young bulls, two different diets were compared: corn silage feeding (CSF), with corn silage-based diet; and the triticale silage feeding (TSF), with triticale silage-based diet. Silage constituted about 41% and 46% of the feed composition (for CSF and TSF, respectively). Diets were characterised by the same energy and protein content. Despite the lower WF in the TSF group than in the CSF group (7726 vs 8571 l/day/calf respectively), no significant differences were found in animal performances (i.e., daily weight gain and final weight), feed conversion and income over feed costs. These results show that simple production decisions can have a significant impact on water resource. Therefore, the use of triticale silage should be further promoted, especially in world regions with limited water resources where low WF feed formulation is more strategic than elsewhere.

Keywords

Limousine Podolian young bulls; beef production; feeding efficiency; water footprint

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science and Technology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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