Influence of Production Factors on Beef Primal Tissue Composition
Vipasha Sood,
Argenis Rodas-González,
Stephanie Lam,
Óscar López-Campos,
Jose Segura,
Timothy Schwinghamer,
Michael Dugan,
John Basarab,
Jennifer Aalhus,
Manuel Juárez
Affiliations
Vipasha Sood
Department of Food and Human Nutritional Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
Argenis Rodas-González
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
Stephanie Lam
Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada
Óscar López-Campos
Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada
Jose Segura
Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada
Timothy Schwinghamer
Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada
Michael Dugan
Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada
John Basarab
Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
Jennifer Aalhus
Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada
Manuel Juárez
Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada
This study used 1076 crossbred steers to evaluate the effects of calf-fed and yearling-fed beef production systems, implant strategies (with and without implants), and their interactions on the primal tissue composition (lean and fat components) of individual primal cuts using complete carcass dissection data. The results indicate that production system × implant interactions affected loin and rib primal weight percentages as well as marbling (p p > 0.05). Implants increased lean and decreased fat tissue contents of primal cut; however, the production system only affected lean content in the loin (p p < 0.05). Redundancy analysis revealed a strong association between Angus breed percentage and marbling, as well as between Simmental breed percentage and multiple primal lean traits. Response surface regression models explained less variability in the tissue composition traits in calf-fed compared with yearling-fed animals, suggesting the need for further exploration using genomic studies.
