Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1988, 48: 57-60
Ten sire breeds were used over Angus cows to generate crossbred and
purebred Angus calves in 1973 and 1974, the steers of which (N=229) were
slaughtered at about 20 months of age in the autumns of 1975 and 1976.
There was a 35 kg (14.5%) range in hot carcass weight from the lightest
(Angus x Angus) to the heaviest group (Blond d'Aquitaine x Angus cross).
The average lean and fat content in the dissected left hind quarters
were 65% and 15%, with a range of 2% from the L to G export grades for
both lean and fat levels. In contrast to these narrow ranges, the
averages of sire breeds were from 68.3% to 59.4% (range 8.9%) for lean
content and from 13.0% to 21.3% (range 8.3%) for fat content. Sire
breed rankings for lean content were: Blond d'Aquitaine (68.3%),
Charolais, Limousin, Maine Anjou, Simmental, South Devon, Angus,
Friesian, Hereford, Jersey (59.4%). An example is given of the
potential impact of sire breed on saleable meat weight. Although the
Blond d'Aquitaine-cross carcass was 16.4% heavier than the Angus
carcass, it contained 22.5% more saleable meat and involved the trimming
of fewer kg of fat using presumably less labour). The additional
saleable meat per kg of carcass (+5.2% or 68.3% v 64.9% lean) suggests
that a premium of 9.8c/kg could be paid to the farmer for Blond
d'Aquitaine crosses over a schedule price of $1.85/kg for Angus cattle.
In the freezing works, where breed is often not know, conformation
should be used to identify the leaner carcasses. An average premium of
3% for good conformation and a discount of 3% for poor conformation
would more fairly reward producers.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
Beef; saleable meat; fat trim; breeds; conformation; export
grades
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Last Updated 18-03-1997
