Intramuscular Fat

[JHH]

Ok I have heard it over and over (Herefords dont marble)

Can you feed anything or a certain way to make them marble more?

I think we are chasing extremes with some of the Angus IMF numbers.

I would think average would be good but what is average for hereford and for angus?

Just thinking out loud.

 

[GRTiger85]

you mean intramuscular fat

 

[SRBeef]

Why be so focused on marbling? Marbling is only used because it is something measureable. I guess it does matter if you are paid for marbling as on a grid.

However what we are really after or should be after is taste and tenderness. These may or may not be directly related to marbling.

I recently took 2 animals to a very good local processor. One was an 18 month old BWF heifer. One was a 13 month old straight Hereford steer. Both carcasses were aged for 2 weeks. Both came off of grazing standing corn for about the same amount of time.

When I picked up the beef I asked the very knowledgeable owner/butcher which he thought was the "best" beef. He said the heifer was more marbled and appeared to be the "better" beef.

In my own grilling and taste comparisons it was exactly the opposite. Yes T-bones from the heifer appeared to be better marbled visually, but T-bones from the steer were more tender and tasted better, at least to me.

Reading recently, there are many more factors than marbling which go into a tender, tasty steak: age, sex, breed, genetics within the breed, feeding, etc.

Having said that, I am still looking for bulls with good IMF numbers but there is much more to it than that.

If you are selling on a grid that pays for marbling then that is what you should give the customer. Corn tends to increase IMF I believe. However if you are looking for tenderness and taste there is much more to it than just how much IMF you can pump into an animal.

jmho. Jim

 

[dun]

I'm trying to figure out who says Herefords don;t marble.

 

[JHH]

I'm trying to figure out who says Herefords don;t marble.

The Ultrasound guys.

 

[JHH]

you mean intramuscular fat

Yes

 

[GRTiger85]

they will marble if genetics allow, other than that I dont think there are any major things you can do that will improve it. I dont buy that they wont marble though.

 

[KNERSIE]

I'm trying to figure out who says Herefords don;t marble.

The Ultrasound guys.

Herefords always used to marble.

Maybe going back to what herefords were supposed to be and quit trying to make them into charolais will get them back to easy fattening, marbling cattle that they once was. That doesn't mean you should go and chase the other end of the extreme either and try making them into wagyu

 

[Alan]

I currently have a M326 steer out of a cow going back to 20X in the freezer, he seems to be marbled very nicely after being grained finished for 90 days. At about 8 pm last night I threw two rib steaks, 1 inch thick in a frying pan and because of the latness of the hour our potato side was oven baked French fries..... The steaks were very tender even quickly cooked in a frying pan.

There are some good hereford bulls out there with good IMF qualities. I used some Harland this year, I'm looking forward to getting one of his sons in my freezer.... 3 years from now

Alan

 

[RD-Sam]

I'm trying to figure out who says Herefords don;t marble.

The Ultrasound guys.

Herefords always used to marble.

Maybe going back to what herefords were supposed to be and quit trying to make them into charolais will get them back to easy fattening, marbling cattle that they once was. That doesn't mean you should go and chase the other end of the extreme either and try making them into wagyu

Interesting, if you look at the black angus bulls that people have bred to look like Charolais, they don't have hardly any IMF, usually 2.5 to 4.0 range.

I think average for a black angus is around 5.5 to 6.0, and several of my cows are in that range.

Best I can tell, you may pick up a little by feeding, but what usually happens is the animal will just gain external fat and not gain much IMF, unless they have the genetics to gain IMF.

 

[SRBeef]

If this is true - about IMF being an individual animal thing - isn't this a reason to pay more attention to the IMF EPD?

This is not something that can be seen by the looks of a bull but can be easily measured with an ultrasound if I understand correctly. under my bull's AHA EPD's there is a line that says "traits observed" which I assume were actually measured rather than predicted. In this list is FAT, REA, and IMF which I assume are ultrasound measurements.

With the harvest of his first steers this spring, the REA and IMF numbers seem to be accurate for his offspring also.

As far as accuracy, what better accuracy can you get than a direct measurement?

Jim

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Have yet to have a bull customer ask about marbling. As for as that goes never had a order buyer ask if my calves would marble.

 

[KNERSIE]

Have yet to have a bull customer ask about marbling. As for as that goes never had a order buyer ask if my calves would marble.

Them being limousin I think it goes without saying. ;-)

 

[JHH]

If this is true - about IMF being an individual animal thing - isn't this a reason to pay more attention to the IMF EPD?

This is not something that can be seen by the looks of a bull but can be easily measured with an ultrasound if I understand correctly. under my bull's AHA EPD's there is a line that says "traits observed" which I assume were actually measured rather than predicted. In this list is FAT, REA, and IMF which I assume are ultrasound measurements.

With the harvest of his first steers this spring, the REA and IMF numbers seem to be accurate for his offspring also.

As far as accuracy, what better accuracy can you get than a direct measurement?

Jim

Jim I will get to see the REA this week. He is hanging right now. He was sent to the locker the 12th

If we select for it by the EPD you are just chasing numbers again.

 

[JHH]

I'm trying to figure out who says Herefords don;t marble.

Herefords always used to marble.

Maybe going back to what herefords were supposed to be and quit trying to make them into charolais will get them back to easy fattening, marbling cattle that they once was. That doesn't mean you should go and chase the other end of the extreme either and try making them into wagyu

Interesting, if you look at the black angus bulls that people have bred to look like Charolais, they don't have hardly any IMF, usually 2.5 to 4.0 range.

I think average for a black angus is around 5.5 to 6.0, and several of my cows are in that range.

Best I can tell, you may pick up a little by feeding, but what usually happens is the animal will just gain external fat and not gain much IMF, unless they have the genetics to gain IMF.

That is what I was looking for. An average number. Top steer IMF wise was a 6.72 we had a lot of 3.5 to 4.6 very few (only three infact) above that. The two top were simmy/angus cross one at 6.72 and the other a 5.91. The next steer was a sydensticker bought steer and he was 5.62

The biggest ribeyes where out of limo/angus cross black steers one with 16.71 and then 16.29

None of these steers with the big numbers where your carcass winner.

The winning steer on foot had a 1365 weight and graded 4.59 choice- , .8 rib fat ,14.64 REA,yeild premium -5 , He was purebred angus (he may have been a sydensticker steer also.

The overall winner ( carcass,on foot,and rate of gain) was a crossbred sim/angus weighed 1275 3.98 select+,.42 rib fat,16.07 REA

 

[JHH]

The high dollar bought steer wasnt even in the top of his class. That guy was mad. Said he bought the best steer he could find and some one had paid the judge off. :roll:

This happens but his daughters steer was very poor looking and needed more feed and less pedigree.He weighed 1085 i think

 

[vclavin]

http://www.cabpartners.com/bestpractice ... ection.pdf I can assume that this will help with your question.
I was told to use bulls with + IMF, +RE and - FAT EPD's ( all while keeping an eye on the other traits as well) If you mate so that animals IMF and RE are close to the same number you can raise them equally, otherwise, as you raise one the other is negatively affected.
Butcher was at our farm for 2 steers that were within a few days age. Butcher stated one was much more tender than the other and he assumed there was a large difference in age. Nope, very close in age, I assume he simply had the dna for tenderness higher than his 1/2 brother. Their ultrasound was similiar as well for IMF, RE and fat.
Valerie

 

[RD-Sam]

Have yet to have a bull customer ask about marbling. As for as that goes never had a order buyer ask if my calves would marble.

Them being limousin I think it goes without saying. ;-)

You beat me to it. :lol:

 

[TexasBred]

Have yet to have a bull customer ask about marbling. As for as that goes never had a order buyer ask if my calves would marble.

If you can get past the fact that the limmi meat doesn't have all that marbling...it's some of the best tasting meat I've ever eaten. Great and very intense flavor. :nod:

 

[3waycross]

Have yet to have a bull customer ask about marbling. As for as that goes never had a order buyer ask if my calves would marble.

If you can get past the fact that the limmi meat doesn't have all that marbling...it's some of the best tasting meat I've ever eaten. Great and very intense flavor. :nod:

I know Red bull breeder is gonna kill me for this but, could that intense flavor come from the leftover adrenelin from jumping out of the alley behind the chute? :help: