Animal performance and methane emissions in feedlot vs, traditional pastoral systems with concentrate supplementation for Tanzanian Short Horn Zebu and Boran cattle

The current study examined the effect of concentrate supplementation on beef cattle performance and methane (CH₄) emissions in traditional pastoral systems in Tanzania. The experiment involved 60 Boran and 60 Tanzanian Shorthorn Zebu (TSHZ) cattle, assigned to five dietary treatments for 100 days: grazing alone (GrazC00), grazing with 50% concentrate (GrazC50), and ad libitum hay with 60%, 80%, and 100% concentrate supplementation (HayC60, HayC80, and HayC100, respectively)... Results showed that concentrate supplementation increased ADG by 6%–33% and decreased DMP by 3%–35%, regardless of breed... the lowest EIWG observed in the HayC100 treatment (from 396 at GrazC00 to 87 g CH₄/kg WG at HayC100). Overall, concentrate supplementation improved cattle performance and reduced DMP... These findings suggest that concentrate supplementation could be an effective strategy for enhancing beef production efficiency and reducing environmental impact in Tanzania.