There have been mixed results regarding energy supplementation and weight gain. Oliveros et al. (1989) found that daily gain increased with corn or wet-cornbran supplement when fed with a high-roughage, lowquality diet of corn cobs and alfalfa haylage. Anderson et al. (1988) observed that energy supplements tended to increase daily gain in steers grazing bromegrass (a higher quality feed) in the fall, with no difference between soybean hulls or corn. In addition, energy supplementation increased daily gain over the summer grazing period, with no difference among corn, ground soyhulls, or whole soyhulls. Marston et al. (1995) established that cows fed a soybean-hull-based energy supplement gained more body weight during gestation than cows fed a soybean-meal-based protein supplement. Most of the body weight gain occurred during the first two months of supplementation when both forage quality and weather conditions were favorable. Energysupplemented cows lost less body condition score before
calving than protein-supplemented cows, with this advantage continuing throughout the breeding season
and until weaning. Cow weight loss from calving to the end of postpartum supplementation was similar for energy- and protein-supplemented cows.