06/22/05 Age of beef

Age of Beef There is a difference between calf-fed beef and yearling beef. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back with some details. Scientists at the University of Nebraska recently conducted a study to determine differences in meat quality between calf-fed steers and yearling fed steers. The test was carried out over a two- year period using calf crops from the same herd. Steers were randomly fed as calves going directly into the feedlot after weaning or fed as yearlings after wintering on a roughage ration and grazing pasture for 100 days after winter before being placed in a feedlot. The cattle were processed when they had approximately one-half inch of fat over the 12th rib. The calf-fed group was 13-14 months old at processing and the yearling group was 19-20 months old. The yearling steers finished with heavier carcass weights, larger rib eyes, but less marbling which lowered the USDA quality grades. Steaks from the strip loin of the two groups were cut one inch thick for evaluation. A mechanical shear test for tenderness showed the calf-fed group to be the most tender. A trained taste panel chose the calf-fed steaks as being higher in juiciness, flavor, and overall acceptability than steaks from the yearling steers. In both quality grades, choice and select, the calf-fed steaks were the first choice in every test. This study only targeted eating characteristics of calf-fed and yearling fed beef. It would be interesting to evaluate the economics of feeding the two age groups to see which is more profitable. I'm Jeff Keane. Ketch Pen June 2005