It's Not Just A Matter Of Handling

摘要

Selecting for temperament will improve feedlot performance and meat quality. Ranchers and feeders have suspected for years that cattle with an excitable temperament had lower weight gains and meat quality problems. A recent study at Colorado State University confirmed those suspicions. The study was done with my colleagues Bridgette Voisinet-Bartlett, Darrell Tatum and Shannon Fitzgerald-O'Conner. Cattle that became very agitated and excited during routine processing and weighing performed poorly inthe feedlot and had both tough meat and more dark cutters. Dark cutting is a serious quality defect because it decreases beef shelf life.