In this section:
Pathways to High Quality Beef
Objectives
To examine effects of different growth pathways and feeding regimes on meat quality of slaughter cattle of diverse genetic meat quality attributes.
The production sector of the beef industry uses diverse genotypes in a wide range of environments and production systems. This is because of environmental constraints, different availability of feed resources (supplements and grains), and different pastures. The challenge is to design pathways for industry in regional Australia to consistently produce cattle that achieve domestic and export specification in the face of variation in environmental and financial constraints and changing market needs.
Improvements in genetic selection techniques (use of EBVs) now allow producers to select cattle with traits that are more appropriate to help them meet their market requirements. Differences in carcass traits such as retail beef yield, and marbling (Intramuscular fat) that exist within and across breeds means that the producer can influence eating quality through genetic selection.
Markets are now demanding and paying premiums for carcasses that meet accurate specifications. Because nutrition, management (growth pathways) as well as genetic traits can change meat quality attributes, producers must be able to manipulate these parameters to produce a product that will allow them to consistently meet market specifications, and gain a premium for their product. This CRC project combines efforts in the southern areas of Australia to improve beef quality and profitability.
Progeny from sires with meat quality traits for:
- high retail beef yield (RBY%);
- high marbling (IMF%); and
- a combination of both are being grown from birth to slaughter under different growth paths, being slaughtered at either domestic (450–480kg liveweight) or Japanese Ox specifications (600–650kg liveweight).
Sires used
Nineteen high accuracy (70% and above) Angus sires with a range of EBVs for RBY%, IMF% and both RBY% and IMF%, were used at Struan and at Hamilton, Victoria in June 2000. Other matings in NSW and WA have taken place in 2001 and beyond. Sires of Belgian Blue, Limousin and Wagyu have been added to increase genetic diversity. Data is being analysed for release in 2006.
For further information contact:
Mick Deland
