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The performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of two breeds of cattle taken to slaughter at three different levels of backfat thickness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

S. Thomas
Affiliation:
Animal and Feed Technology Department, SAC, 581 King Street, Aberdeen, AB9 1UD
K. Demeke
Affiliation:
c/o Ethiopia Livestock. Meat Corporation, P.O. Box 5579, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia5579
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Extract

Slaughtering cattle at lighter weights to produce leaner meat might be expected to improve efficiency of production. An earlier experiment with Hereford x Friesian steers (Thomas, Kay, Hamilton and Fisher, 1987) showed no significant effect on feed efficiency when cattle were slaughtered at three different EC fat classes. An experiment was subsequently carried out to examine the effect on performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of two breeds of cattle slaughtered at three different levels of fatness. In this experiment backfat depth was used as the criterion for slaughter.

Thirty Hereford x Friesian/Holstein steers (initial weight 326 kg) and 30 Limousin x Holstein/Friesian steers (initial weight 340 kg) were used in the experiment.

Type
Beef
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1993

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References

Thomas, S., Kay, M., Hamilton, M. and Fisher, D. 1987. Efficient Beef Production from Grass, Ed J Frame, BGS Occasional Symposium No. 22.Google Scholar