Performance, carcass, and meat palatability traits of open and 30-month old heifers that produced one calf

摘要

Eighty-seven 3/8 Simmental x 5/8 Hereford heifers calved at 2 years of age and weredesignated as Single-Calf-Heifers (SCH). Twenty-six heifer mates that did not calve weredesignated as 2-year-old open heifers (2-OH), and 22, 1 year-old open heifers (1-OH) from thesame source served as controls. All heifer groups were fed a high-grain diet for 112 to 137 daysbefore slaughter. The SCH were started on feed about 1 month after calving, and their calveswere weaned early about 5 weeks prior to slaughter. Thirty-three of the SCH were implantedwith Synovex-H® after calving. Carcass data were obtained, and rib steaks were collected andevaluated for palatability.Our results indicate that it is possible to produce carcasses with desirable weights, USDAquality and yield grades, and taste panel palatability ratings from heifers that have produced onecalf, and then were fed a high-grain diet and slaughtered by 30 months of age. However, ribeyesteaks of SCH were not as tender as those from 1-OH. Implanting heifers that have calved mayresult in more "hard-boned" carcasses, but likely will increase dressing percent. Cattlemenwilling to provide intensive management may find that the SCH system has considerablepotential.