Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of rearing managements applied during a heifers’ whole life on the carcass and flank steak (rectus abdominis) meat traits. For this study, rearing managements applied on 96 heifers were identified by conducting surveys in farms. A heifers’ whole life was divided into three key periods: Pre-weaning, growth, and fattening. The combination of the rearing factors applied during the heifers’ whole life allowed us to characterize several rearing managements. Among them, four have been studied in depth. The main results displayed that the carcass traits were more sensitive to the rearing managements than the flank steak traits. The different managements considered had an impact on the weight, the dressing percentage and the conformation score of the carcass. Whereas, they had no impact on the sensory descriptors, the sheer force and the color of the flank steak. This study showed that the variations observed for carcass and meat traits could not be explained by the variation of only one rearing factor but could be explained by many rearing factors characterizing the rearing management applied. Finally, this study demonstrated that it was possible to improve carcass traits without deteriorating meat traits.
Highlights
Beef carcass and meat traits are impacted by the animal type [1,2,3]
The concentrate’s crude protein and energy contents were lower than the other rearing managements applied during the pre-weaning period
The time spent by the calf with its mother was longer than both of the other rearing managements applied during the pre-weaning period, as the calves were permanently with their mothers
Summary
Beef carcass and meat traits are impacted by the animal type (sex and breed) [1,2,3]. Rearing managements have been shown to influence these characteristics, with the fattening period as the main studied period of the animal’s life. The rearing managements applied during the animal’s whole life period (i.e., from birth to slaughter, WLP) are a complex combination of many rearing factors to achieve carcass traits expected by the target market and to maximize their value. Very few studies have jointly studied the influence of the rearing managements applied at different periods of the animal’s life (growth, fattening or whole life) on carcass and meat
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