> CAB is growing because people are
> buying the PERCEPTION of a better
> product. Why do the cuts in the
> beef counter that are bright red
> sell before the slightly darker
> and probably "MORE
> aAGED" ones. If CAB
> guarentees such a quality product
> why are so many steak houses
> moving to a marinated product. CAB
> beef cannot be picked from other
> beef in blind tastings. HECK
> several years ago the cover of
> sucessful farming had a display of
> black and red cattle fitted and
> shown side by side from Leachman's
> breeding program and most
> cattlemen couldn't pick which one
> was which on the hoof with the
> hides still attached.(MYself
> included) Dont get me wrong, CAB
> is a great program FOR CATTLEMEN.
> the consumer is still getting beef
> that is inconsistant in quality
> and there is no current way to get
> info back to breeders which
> bloodlines thro dark cutters, low
> marbling, or just plain tuff meat.
> Identity preserved cattle are a
> start but I heard of a program
> that tags each carcass and the end
> data goes back to the breeder thru
> the feedlot; grade, dressing
> percentages, ect, and the feed lot
> adds it's own numbers; days on
> feed, feed conversion, added
> expense(vet,meds ect) . This is
> the type of program that I think
> we need to see. I agree - the producer needs to learn more about what it is he is producing, as far as beef quality goes. Getting data back from within your own program is useful, but it takes some generations of selection to make any impact on carcass quality, unless you introduce known GENETIC factors. I have copied and pasted an article directly from the USDA site which carries the reports from the Meat Animal Research Center. The myostatin gene offers powerful potential to improve meat quality! (Un-edited version below) The Effects of Piedmontese Inheritance and Myostatin Genotype on the Tenderness of Longissimus Thoracis, Gluteus Medius, Semimembranosus, and Biceps Femoris
Publication: Journal Of Animal Science Publication Request Approval Date: February 9, 2001 Interpretive Summary: It was recently shown that an inactivated myostatin gene is responsible for double muscling in cattle. Most studies of double muscling in cattle indicate that meat tenderness is improved, although many studies have involved only the ribeye muscle. We have reported that Piedmontese with one copy of the double muscling gene have more tender ribeye muscle. However, the magnitude of the effect on tenderness of one (heterozygous) and two (homozygous) copies of the gene was not clear. Furthermore, it was not known how much of the effect of improved tenderness in the Piedmontese breed was due to the double muscling gene and how much was due to other genes. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the relative contributions of percentage Piedmontese inheritance and double muscling to tenderness of ribeye, top sirloin, top round, and bottom round cuts. The results indicate that the effects of Piedmontese inheritance on meat tenderness were due entirely to the double muscling gene. All four cuts from heterozygous animals with one copy of the double muscling gene were more tender and had less connective tissue than normal animals. Only the bottom round cut was further increased in tenderness with two copies of the double muscling gene relative to one copy. Piedmontese bulls homozygous for double muscling could be used as terminal sires to produce heterozygous progeny with improved tenderness in the four muscles studied. Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the relative contributions of Piedmontese inheritance (0, 25, 50, or 75%) and myostatin genotype (+/+, mh/+, and mh/mh) to tenderness of four major muscles. Over 4 years, matings were made to produce 396 animals with 0 (+/+), 1 (mh/+), or 2 (mh/mh) inactive myostatin alleles which were known to result in normal muscling, heavy muscling, and extremely heavy muscling, respectively. Data from four muscles at 14 d postmortem were analyzed for the main effects of group (eight combinations of myostatin genotype and percentage Piedmontese; [+/+]/0%, [+/+]/25%, [+/+]/50%, [mh/+]/25%, [mh/+]/50%, [mh/+]/75%, [mh/mh]/50%, [mh/mh]/75%) and muscle. Within myostatin genotypes, contrasts to test the effect of percentage Piedmontese were not significant (P > 0.05). Data were reanalyzed for the main effects of myostatin genotype and muscle. Tenderness, ease of fragmentation, and amount of connective tissue ratings were higher (P
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