Supplementation of Rhodes grass hay with whole cottonseed improves average daily gain of Brahman cross steers in tropical Western Australia

Authors

• J Dougherty, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
• Darcy Maccartie, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
• F Anderson, Murdoch University
• S K. Maloney, University of Western Australia
• John Milton, University of Western Australia
• Emma Moore, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
• Hugo Quinn, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
• Graham Gardner, Murdoch University
• Clinton K. Revell, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
• D Thomas, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

7-2026

Conference Title

Transforming Animal Management through Sustainable Innovations: Proceedings of the 36th Biennial Conference of the Australian Association of Animal Sciences

Place of Publication

Adelaide

Keywords

nutrition, Rhodes grass hay, cottonseed, Brahman cross steers

Disciplines

Beef Science

Abstract

Cattle in Australia’s northern pastoral regions are typically weaned onto native pasture and backgrounded until they reach sufficient weight (~280-350 kg) to be sold for live export or to a feedlot. This is hindered by the low energy and protein content of native forages during the dry season, reducing weight gain and increasing days needed to reach market weight. The recent expansion of cotton production in the Kimberley region of Western Australia (WA) has led to increased availability of whole cottonseed as a source of energy and protein for cattle production. Cottonseed has been fed to improve cattle performance in other systems in Australia (Andrews 2025), although there is limited information on the potential benefits for northern cattle genotypes with tropical forages. This study hypothesised that supplementation of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) hay with whole cottonseed would improve the liveweight gain of Brahman cross cattle in northern production systems.

Recommended Citation

Dougherty, J., Maccartie, D., Anderson, F., Blache, D., Maloney, S. K., Milton, D. J., Moore, E., Quinn, H., Gardner, G., Revell, C., Thomas, D. (2026), Supplementation of Rhodes grass hay with whole cottonseed improves average daily gain of Brahman cross steers in tropical Western Australia. Animal Science in Australia 36, 82. https://www.aaas2026.com.au/_files/ugd/39a717_2039ad2397484d4bb72dd686d4edc44e.pdf