Bioeconomic simulation of compensatory growth in beef cattle production systems

The manipulation of growth can be used as a strategy to reduce feeding costs. The objective of this study was to analyze, by deterministic and stochastic simulation, compensatory growth effects on the bioeconomic results of growing-finishing beef cattle systems. Four beef cattle systems were simulated with different feed restriction periods (no restriction, CONT; 90 days of restriction, COMP90; 120 days of restriction, COMP120; and 150 days of restriction, COMP150). Risk analysis was performed using the Monte Carlo method. Animals in feed restriction systems demonstrated partial compensation and required longer periods to achieve slaughter weight than CONT steers (16, 23 and 27 more days for COMP90, COMP120 and COMP150, respectively). The CONT system was the most productive (466 kg/ha/year), followed by COMP90 (443 kg/ha/year), COMP120 (432 kg/ha/year), and COMP150 (383 kg/ha/year). The most profitable system was the COMP90 system (US$ 161/ha) followed by the CONT (US$ 144/ha). The lower net margin was observed in the COMP120 (US$ 107/ha) and COMP150 (US$ 90/ha) systems. The risk analysis showed that COMP90 presented the highest financial stability. For all simulated systems, prices of finished steers, feeder calves, and corn were the variables with the greatest effects on net margin. The use of compensatory growth can be a tool to reduce feeding costs in beef cattle systems; however, the feed restriction must not be longer than three months.