Carcass Characteristics Of Progeny Research Articles

The Influence of Maternal Dietary Intake During Mid-Gestation on Growth, Feedlot Performance, miRNA and mRNA Expression, and Carcass and Meat Quality of Resultant Offspring

This research analyzed how maternal plane of nutrition during mid-gestation impacts growth, blood metabolites, expression of microRNA and messenger RNA in skeletal muscle, feedlot performance, and carcass characteristics of progeny. Thirty-two cows were bred to the same Angus sire and fed to either maintain a body condition score (BCS) of 5.0 to 5.5 (maintenance [MAIN]; n = 15) or to lose 1 BCS (restriction [REST]; n = 17) over an 84-d period of mid-gestation. Following the second trimester, all cows were co-mingled and fed at maintenance for the remainder of gestation. Following the 84-d treatment period, REST cows had a lower (P < 0.01) BCS than MAIN cows. At the end of the third trimester, there was no difference (P = 0.78) in BCS between the treatment groups. There was no difference (P > 0.10) between offspring in birthweight, weaning weight, average daily gain, feed efficiency, dry matter intake, carcass yield, steak quality, or in circulating levels of glucose, cortisol, insulin, or insulin-like growth factor-1. REST offspring expressed more (P < 0.05) miR-133a, miR-133b, miR-181d, miR-214, miR-424 and miR-486 at weaning than MAIN offspring. At harvest, REST offspring expressed more (P < 0.05) miR-133a and less (P < 0.01) miR-486 than MAIN offspring. REST steaks were perceived as more tender (P = 0.05) by a trained sensory panel. These results indicate that maternal nutrient restriction during mid-gestation resulting in a loss of 1 BCS has an effect on microRNA expression in the skeletal muscle but does not alter postnatal growth potential, carcass quality, or end product quality of the offspring. This suggests that moderate restriction in maternal nutrition during the second trimester, which results in a drop in BCS that can be recovered during the third trimester, should not cause alarm for producers when considering future offspring performance.

0018 Impact of maternal protein restriction in first-calf heifers during mid- to late- gestation on gene expression, feedlot performance, and carcass characteristics of progeny

0018 Impact of maternal protein restriction in first-calf heifers during mid- to late- gestation on gene expression, feedlot performance, and carcass characteristics of progeny

Economic evaluations of beef bulls in an integrated supply chain1

Economic benefits from the use of expected progeny of a sample of beef bulls with genetic evaluations were calculated over an integrated supply chain for combinations of price discounts for intramuscular fat and LM area. Fixed backfat finish and marketing at the point of optimized gross margins were considered. An economic model was used to calculate average expected gross margins for a sample of bulls. Across-breed, age-constant genetic evaluations were used to predict carcass characteristics of progeny including weight, retail yield, intramuscular fat, and LM area, as well as input requirements including feed and housing as a function of time on feed. Proportion of retail cuts affected by price discounts was included in the calculations. Optimizing endpoints did not affect rankings to any extent relative to a fixed end point in this sample of bulls, as a result of fixed endpoints being similar to optimized endpoints for the economic situation considered. However, rank correlations were only 0.63 and 0.71 between rankings for no discount being applied and rankings with discounts for intramuscular fat and LM area, for fixed and optimized endpoints, respectively. We conclude that market prices are necessary considerations in choices of bulls to use in commercial beef production.

The influence of conformation of the suckler dam on dystocia and progeny characteristics

The Northern Ireland beef herd currently incorporates a very diverse range of genotypes which produces a very varied product in terms of carcass weight, fatness and conformation (Kirkland et al., 2004). However, factors other than genotype may also influence the expression of maternal traits and progeny carcass characteristics. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of dam conformation, irrespective of genotype, on dystocia and progeny carcass traits.

Carcass characteristics of progeny from ram lambs selected for high or low ultrasonic backfat thickness

Abstract The five fattest and five leanest rams were selected on the basis of their liveweight-adjusted ultrasonic backfat thickness from a flock of 100 Coopworths at around 6 months of age. A total of 110 male progeny of these 10 rams were slaughtered between January and April at a mean hot carcass weight (HCW) of 17.13 kg. There were no significant differences between sire classes (i.e., lean, fat) in the weights of the progeny (HCW of 16.95 and 17.31 kg, SED ±0.621). However, there were very marked differences in the regression slopes for the allometric relationships between several carcass variables and HCW, with the lean class having significantly lower slopes for carcass chemical fat content and three subcutaneous fat depths than the fat class. The estimated heritability for backfat thickness (progeny-sire regression) was 0.25. The results indicate that significant progress in terms of carcass leanness should be achievable through the use of suitable ultrasonic devices for measuring backfat thicknes...

Lifetime productivity of crossbred cows. 1. Experimental design, growth and carcass characteristics of progeny

First crosses of Hereford with large and small dairy type (Friesian and Jersey), British beef type (Shorthorn), Bos indicus dairy and beef type (Sahiwal and Brahman), and European beef and dual-purpose type (Charolais and Simmental) females were reared on different properties and joined with Hereford bulls, to produce backcross calves under semi-arid conditions in southern Australia from 1976 to 1984. Parity x breed effects were important for all traits studied. In general, calves out of European cross dams were heaviest at weaning and slaughter and yielded higher carcass weights than other types, but calves out of dairy cross cows (especially Friesian cross) had fatter carcasses. Calves out of zebu cross dams expressed lower carcass weights in spite of relatively high dressing percentages. Calves out of Shorthorn cross cows were lightest at all ages and expressed the lowest dressing percentages.