Easy fleshing??

[El_Putzo]

Would it be safe to assume that an animal with a high FAT Epd would be easy fleshing? Just curious.

 

[Chuckie]

Seems it would have a bit more fat. I notice at the store, they don't mind selling meat with a chunk of fat that you don't want to pay for.
I do like lean cuts of meat with marbling. Surely someone here has butchered a steer or cow that was an easy keeper that could tell you. But I bet they will tell you that it was tender and juicy.

 

[El_Putzo]

What happened to Frankie's post? It was here a minute ago?!?

 

[jerry27150]

they are a lot easier to keep & fatten out on less grain than others

 

[Frankie]

What happened to Frankie's post? It was here a minute ago?!?

Are you sure? What did I say?

Remember that an animal's EPD is what you EXPECT from his/her progeny, not the animal's own performance.

IMO, cattle that are referred to as "easy keeping" usually have extra backfat. Also, IMO, they look better than cattle without extra backfat.

 

[1848]

Remember that an animal's EPD is what you EXPECT from his/her progeny, not the animal's own performance.

I have to agree with Frankie 100% on this one.................dang!

Not so sure high back fat indicates easy fleshing. It probably indicates, that extra nutrition may turn into fat more readily,... , but I have seen some thin cows with allot of excess fat in the front end. Think this depends on genetic make up, milking ability, available nutrition and type., mineral, worming, teeth, etc, etc.

 

[El_Putzo]

Remember that an animal's EPD is what you EXPECT from his/her progeny, not the animal's own performance.

I agree, but I also think that in order to pass on a certain trait (IE. fat or ease of fleshing) that animal has to possess that trait also. Theoretically easy fleshing animals should produce easy fleshing offspring. Hence, my theory that if I choose a bull with a higher FAT EPD, his offspring could be somewhat easy fleshing.

 

[Frankie]

Remember that an animal's EPD is what you EXPECT from his/her progeny, not the animal's own performance.

I agree, but I also think that in order to pass on a certain trait (IE. fat or ease of fleshing) that animal has to possess that trait also. Theoretically easy fleshing animals should produce easy fleshing offspring. Hence, my theory that if I choose a bull with a higher FAT EPD, his offspring could be somewhat easy fleshing.

When I speak of "fat", I'm thinking of backfat. Cattle with too much backfat will cost you money if you're selling on a grid.

 

[Michelle Pankonien]

Back fat has nothing to do with being and easy keeper, it has everything to do with being fed beyond the finishing stage of growth

Being an easy keeper relates to being able to maintain body condition on moderate ration or on available forage without much or any supplementation

Marbling is intermuscular fat Fat in the muscle
Deposited as the animal grows

Back fat is extramuscular fat, fat outside the muscle
Deposited last when the animal has met its nutritional and growth requirments and is able to put away the extra energy in storage (FAT)

Marbling is a genetic characteristic, which can be selected for using the Genestar Marbling test

There are separate genes involved in tenderness, however, and some cattle that marble are still tough due to the lack of tenderness genes,
IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT MARBLING

Then there is also the human factor of cooking the meat, cook it too much and it is dry and tough

 

[docgraybull]

Back fat has nothing to do with being and easy keeper, it has everything to do with being fed beyond the finishing stage of growth

Being an easy keeper relates to being able to maintain body condition on moderate ration or on available forage without much or any supplementation

Marbling is intermuscular fat Fat in the muscle
Deposited as the animal grows

Back fat is extramuscular fat, fat outside the muscle
Deposited last when the animal has met its nutritional and growth requirments and is able to put away the extra energy in storage (FAT)

Marbling is a genetic characteristic, which can be selected for using the Genestar Marbling test

There are separate genes involved in tenderness, however, and some cattle that marble are still tough due to the lack of tenderness genes,
IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT MARBLING

Then there is also the human factor of cooking the meat, cook it too much and it is dry and tough

I think you made their point for them, but your first declarative statement is an error. That is, if your later statements are correct. If, as you said, backfat is

deposited last, when the animal has met its nutritional and growth requirements

and

being an easy keeper relates to being able to maintain body condition on moderate ration or on available forage without much or any supplementation

then it stands to reason that presence of backfat and being an easy keeper would correlate. An easy keeper has lower nutritional requirements or is a more effecient utilizer of available nutrition, therefore they are more apt to have extra nutrition (energy) available with which they can lay down as backfat.

I agree that it is not all about marbling, but I disagree that marbling is intermuscular fat, it is intramuscular fat.

 

[Frankie]

Back fat has nothing to do with being and easy keeper, it has everything to do with being fed beyond the finishing stage of growth

I'm thinking of cows in this discussion, not feedlot animals. Cows need to put down fat stores in the good times so they can use them in the hard times. They also need more fat in colder regions for insulation.

Being an easy keeper relates to being able to maintain body condition on moderate ration or on available forage without much or any supplementation

Where to you get this definition? IMO, "easy keeper" is in the eye of the beholder but I'd be glad to see an official definition.

Marbling is intermuscular fat Fat in the muscle Deposited as the animal grows

It wasn't that many years ago that the general consensus was that marbling was the last fat put down. We know today that an animal with the genetics to do so, starts marbling at a very young age. I've seen several research articles that tell us the earlier you start feeding calves, the more likely you'll have marbled beef.

Back fat is extramuscular fat, fat outside the muscle
Deposited last when the animal has met its nutritional and growth requirments and is able to put away the extra energy in storage (FAT)

Thank you so much for this information.

Marbling is a genetic characteristic, which can be selected for using the Genestar Marbling test

It can also be selected from using carcass EPDs. Most breeds have them. If I only used Angus bulls in my program that had the Genstar Marbling test, I'd be very limited in my selection. On the other hand, there ae thousands that have carcass EPDs. BTW, do you know if the tendernness gene is highly heritable?

There are separate genes involved in tenderness, however, and some cattle that marble are still tough due to the lack of tenderness genes,
IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT MARBLING

That may be true, but it's not all about tenderness either. I'll take a well marbled ribeye steak over a piece of tenderloin any day. We also know one in four Select steaks (lower marbling) will be tough, versus one in six Choice steaks.

Then there is also the human factor of cooking the meat, cook it too much and it is dry and tough

Another reason to strive for marbled beef. That intramuscular fat helps protect the meat from drying out.

 

[El_Putzo]

Back fat has nothing to do with being and easy keeper, it has everything to do with being fed beyond the finishing stage of growth

Being an easy keeper relates to being able to maintain body condition on moderate ration or on available forage without much or any supplementation

Marbling is intermuscular fat Fat in the muscle
Deposited as the animal grows

Back fat is extramuscular fat, fat outside the muscle
Deposited last when the animal has met its nutritional and growth requirments and is able to put away the extra energy in storage (FAT)

Marbling is a genetic characteristic, which can be selected for using the Genestar Marbling test

There are separate genes involved in tenderness, however, and some cattle that marble are still tough due to the lack of tenderness genes,
IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT MARBLING

Then there is also the human factor of cooking the meat, cook it too much and it is dry and tough

I think you made their point for them

That's what I was thinking. Thanks for affectively explaining what I couldn't