This year, Elanco is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its market-leading hormonal growth promotant (HGP), Compudose™ 400.
Elanco Brand Manager – Cattle, Kim Krilich, says Compudose has played a major role in increasing the productivity and profitability of the northern beef industry.
“Compudose has helped to shape today’s northern beef industry by allowing producers to turn off quality animals at a much younger age than previously possible,” she says.
“Forty years ago, many northern producers were turning off bullocks for the processing sector that were over five years old.
“Together with improved nutrition, genetics and animal health products, the use of implants means producers are now achieving market specifications for a range of high-quality export and domestic markets with cattle that are only two or three years of age.
“Being able to turn cattle off sooner delivers other important benefits, such as managing pastures, increasing stocking rates and minimising supplementary feeding requirements.”
The use of growth-enhancing technologies, such as implants and rumen modifiers, also have an important role to play in maximising productivity from available resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of beef produced.1,2,3
“Sustainability is rapidly becoming one of the key pillars of the beef industry,” Kim says.
Compudose 400 was released in 1984 and quickly became the highest-selling implant used in grassfed cattle.
“Compudose is scientifically-proven to maximise growth rates in grassfed cattle, allowing beef producers to meet market specifications sooner or increase total production,” Kim says.
“Compudose has stood the test of time.
“It remains the highest-selling implant used in grassfed cattle4.
“Being the only implant with a specified pay-out period of 400 days5, it’s ideal for northern conditions.
“Producers can implant their cattle at any time of the year and be confident that a functional implant will be in place throughout the entire year, regardless of seasonal conditions.
“Put simply, cattle implanted with Compudose 400 will gain more weight in the wet season and lose less weight in the dry.”
The average of 134 trials conducted in Australia shows cattle implanted with Compudose have a 15.8% average liveweight gain advantage compared to non-implanted cattle.6
In typical conditions, Compudose 400 can reduce the time to gain 200kg by 55 days or increase liveweight gain by 32 kg over 400 days!7
Implants have been widely used to improve growth rates and feed conversion efficiency in beef cattle for more than 40 years.
It is estimated that the vast majority of grainfed cattle in Australia and at least 20% of grassfed cattle in northern Australia destined for turn-off are treated with implants at some stage of their lives.4,8
Independent research has shown the use of implants delivers an estimated $236.3 million in extra profit to Australian beef producers and feedlots each year.9
“Compudose has contributed over a billion dollars of extra profit to the northern beef industry over the past 40 years,” Kim says.
“Compudose 400 is one of the most cost-effective inputs available for use in the beef production industry.
“At today’s beef prices, a single dose can easily increase your profit by more than $100/head – or even more if used as part of a whole-of-life implant strategy.10
“The liveweight gain advantages provided by Compudose consistently deliver higher returns than implant-free cattle, even when market premiums or discounts are considered.9
“We look forward to celebrating the 40th anniversary of this great product with the industry this year, including at Beef Australia 2024 being held in Rockhampton in early May.”
Always read and follow label directions. Results may vary depending on nutrition.
References:
1. McCrabb, G.J., Hunter, R.A. (2002). Lifetime methane production is reduced when beef cattle are repeatedly treated with a hormonal growth promotant. Proceedings of Australian Society of Animal Production. pp. 327.
2. Capper, J.L., Hayes, D.J. (2012). The environmental and economic impact of removing growth-enhancing technologies from U.S. beef production. J Anim Sci, 90(10), 3527-37.
3. Capper, J.L. (2011). The environmental impact of beef production in the United States: 1977 compared with 2007. J Anim Sci, 89(12), 4249-61.
4. Baron Audit Data MAT September 2023.
5. Registered label directions, apvma.gov.au.
6. BF5870.
7. Based on 15.8% liveweight gain advantage over unimplanted controls growing at 0.5kg/hd/day. Results may vary according to seasonal conditions.
8. Fast Facts – Australia’s beef industry (2023). Meat & Livestock Australia.
9. Freshagenda (2022). Beef market analysis relevant to the use of HGPs.
10. Based on 15.8% liveweight gain advantage in cattle gaining 0.5 kg/day and $3.17/kg liveweight.
Results may vary according to seasonal and market conditions.
Compudose™, Elanco and the diagonal bar logo are trademarks of Elanco or its affiliates. ©2024 Elanco or its affiliates.
