Effects of encapsulated nitrate on growth performance, nitrate toxicity, and enteric methane emissions in beef steers: Backgrounding phase

A long-term experiment was conducted to examine the effects of feeding encapsulated nitrate (EN) on growth, enteric methane production, and nitrate (NO3−) toxicity in beef cattle fed a backgrounding diet. A total of 108 crossbred steers (292 ± 18 kg) were blocked by BW and randomly assigned to 18 pens. The pens (experimental unit; 6 animals per pen) received 3 dietary treatments: Control, a backgrounding diet supplemented with urea; 1.25% EN, control diet supplemented with 1.25% encapsulated calcium ammonium NO3− (i.e., EN) in dietary DM, which partially replaced urea; or 2.5% EN, control diet supplemented with 2.5% EN (DM basis) fully replacing urea. Additionally, 24 steers were located in 4 pens and randomly assigned to 1 of the above 3 dietary treatments plus a fourth treatment: 2.3% UEN, control diet supplemented with 2.3% unencapsulated calcium ammonium NO3− (UEN) fully replacing urea. Animals in the additional 4 pens were used for methane measurement in respiratory chambers, and the pens (except UEN) were also part of the performance study (i.e., n = 7 pens/treatment). The experiment was conducted for 91 d in a random- ized complete block design. During the experiment, DMI was not affected by inclusion of EN in the diet. Feeding EN had no effect on BW, ADG, and G:F (P ≥ 0.57). Methane production (g/d) tended to decrease (P = 0.099) with EN and UEN, but yield (g/kg DMI) did not differ (P = 0.56) among treatments. Inclusion of EN in the diet increased (P ≤ 0.02) sorting of the diets in favor of large and medium particles and against small and fine particles, resulting in considerable increases in NO3− concentrations of orts without affecting DMI. Plasma NO3−-N and NO2−-N concentrations increased (P ≤ 0.05) for EN compared with Control in a dose response manner, but blood methemoglobin levels were below the detection limit. Nitrate concentration in fecal samples slightly increased (from 0.01% to 0.14% DM; P < 0.01) with increasing levels of EN in the diet. In conclusion, EN can be used as a feed additive replacing urea in beef cattle during a backgrounding phase in the long term without NO3− intoxication or any negative effects on growth performance. In addition, the study confirmed that feeding EN tended to decrease enteric methane production in the long term.