Production and Consumer Characteristics of Pasture-Fed Beef

Twenty pasture-fed steers and 10 pasture-fed heifers were evaluated for relationships among daily BW gain, grazing period, frame size, final weight, and carcass traits (fat thickness, ribeye area, marbling score, and YG). Consumers evaluated tenderness, juiciness, flavor, texture, and acceptability of cooked steaks from these animals. Cattle were wintered for a BW gain of 0.69 ± 0.03 kg/d for 156 d postweaning and were maintained in adjacent, rotationally grazed paddocks containing primarily cool-season grasses. Cattle were slaughtered at a constant age (532.9 d ± 5.7 d) in 6 slaughter groups and carcass data were collected. Three LM steaks were taken from each of the carcasses and consistently labeled for position on the 9th- to 12th-rib section of the LM. One steak was evaluated for Warner-Bratzler shear force. An additional steak from each of the carcasses was thawed, cooked, and offered to consumer panelists. A third steak was used to determine the total lipid, fatty acid, and cholesterol composition. Correlations were determined on the relationships among animal, production, and carcass traits with the consumer evaluations and the relationship of fatty acids and cholesterol with consumer evaluations. Animal, growth, and carcass traits were generally not strongly related to panelist scores for tenderness, flavor, or overall desirability from pasture-fed cattle slaughtered at 533 d of age.