Fatter Profits From Leaner Beef

Fatter Profits From Leaner Beef

Ranchers as well as consumers could benefit from pasture-based systems for finishing beef cattle. Pastured cattle gain weight more economically and provide leaner steaks than feedlot-fattened steers, according to a SARE study in Missouri involving crosses of Angus, Gelbvieh and Hereford breeds. Cattle rotating through tall fescue/mixed clover paddocks and fed no grain gained weight at a cost of $41 per hundredweight, compared with $57 for steers fed only a rapid-gain, corn-based ration in confinement. The grain-fed steers finished faster and most graded higher at slaughter than the pastured cattle--but would have lost at least $25 per head based on 1995 beef prices. Fed stockpiled pasture for 45 days after the grazing season ended, each of the pastured cattle could have netted ranchers $40 in profits, the analysis shows. Researchers obtained intermediate results when pastured cattle received some grain supplementation. In 1996, the project will focus on pasture-nutrient analysis and meat quality, such as beef flavor differences, cholesterol analysis and fat and protein content. This SARE-sponsored research has sparked many collaborative studies, such as one that could result in a computer-based grading tool more objective than human graders in slaughter plants. Consumers might gain in other ways too, additional studies show. Pasturing can enhance cattle health, reduce mud and manure in slaughterhouses, improve leather quality and protect water resources. (North Central Region projects ANC94-21 and LNC94-76)

Top