Imported beef

[digger64]

Yes, teeth. Any animal over a year that comes into the feedlots tend to be mouthed too. That way if they're over 24 months they get quick finished.

They are trying to push the age verification with the CCIA tags but can't say that's consistent at all


Dried distillers grains. Because the starch is taken out in the distilling process it doesn't have the risk of bloat and acidosis that grain grain does.

I thought they would have used soya

 

[Blaithin]

I thought they would have used soya

Soy isn't grown here in any real amount. Stateside they use the meal more, you'd have to talk to someone there about it's nutritional stats. Down there they also have a lot of corn DDG from ethanol too - here it's wheat DDG. Every region will have it's locally available products.

Despite these regional differences you'll rarely be able to tell what the animal was finished on in the feedlot. Only difference really is the white fat from barley finishing and the yellow fat from corn.

 

[digger64]

Soy isn't grown here in any real amount. Stateside they use the meal more, you'd have to talk to someone there about it's nutritional stats. Down there they also have a lot of corn DDG from ethanol too - here it's wheat DDG. Every region will have it's locally available products.

Despite these regional differences you'll rarely be able to tell what the animal was finished on in the feedlot. Only difference really is the white fat from barley finishing and the yellow fat from corn.[/QUOTE
Is yellow fat penalised ?
Grass finishing cattle is often being advocated on here , but I think personally that large quantities of yellow fat beef will be difficult to sell even though it has more flavour .

 

[ollie989898]

If you want a beast to fatten you need starch, not protein so soya is largely redundant and I suspect so expensive it probably isn't economic to use.

I saw an impressive beef finishing operation where they were sending so many cattle a month (a bit like a milk cheque which is why they did it- cashflow) and they used a large amount of biscuit meal.

I have eaten beef from more continents than I can remember. Had Australian beef in Thailand and it was very good. Have eaten Brazilian and American beef both pretty good. I have seen had Botswanan and Namibian beef and they were both pretty ropey and tough.

I agree much depends on the hanging and fat content of beef. A lot of British beef is far too lean. I once ate steak in a little family gaff where they had their own herd of Saler cattle (correct me if I am wrong but these are a bit like a bigger, fatter red Devon). They fattened them slowly and have plenty of fat on them. The fat is left on during cooking but can be trimmed back if needed before it is served. It was excellent but then the French really do understand cooking.

 

[Blaithin]

@digger64 the yellow fat is really a regional thing of what the people are used to. To me it looks odd because I'm used to white fat but it isn't penalized.

Much like those picky eaters who want white skinned chicken vs yellow skinned, or pale yolks vs orange yolks, or even brown shells vs white shells. Everyone has their preference, generally based on what they're used to, but it really doesn't have a lot of bearing on taste. Fat pretty much tastes like fat no matter what food it's built from. It's the meat that has a different flavour based on different diets.

 

[digger64]

If you want a beast to fatten you need starch, not protein so soya is largely redundant and I suspect so expensive it probably isn't economic to use.

I saw an impressive beef finishing operation where they were sending so many cattle a month (a bit like a milk cheque which is why they did it- cashflow) and they used a large amount of biscuit meal.
They do need some protein to digest the grain better could come from grass or silage though , atm using soya/urea mix, also use beans if availiable depends on cereal price ratio .
If feeding young heifers that might possibly end up in the cow herd we use distillers grains as a protein source as urea messes them up .

 

[digger64]

@digger64 the yellow fat is really a regional thing of what the people are used to. To me it looks odd because I'm used to white fat but it isn't penalized.

Much like those picky eaters who want white skinned chicken vs yellow skinned, or pale yolks vs orange yolks, or even brown shells vs white shells. Everyone has their preference, generally based on what they're used to, but it really doesn't have a lot of bearing on taste. Fat pretty much tastes like fat no matter what food it's built from. It's the meat that has a different flavour based on different diets.

I think purely visual, but lot people put off when they see it in the butchers display cabinet. Our local abbattoirs will refuse yellow fat cattle if they know from the previous consignment from that farm, if they are fed grain for about 5 weeks they are ok though(more of a creamy colour) , maize silage seems to be ok also .

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Not really. While I've heard of using ultrasound to check degree of marbling and while it is becoming more popular, it still isn't common. When it's done I'm sure it helps bring a premium, it's just not done often. Like I said, the feedlots take in a hodgepodge mix and the slaughterhouses buy it. The most separating there tends to be done is dairy breeds from beef.

Generally the cattle owner who's placing in a feedlot will tell their buyers what they want - beef calves, dairy calves, etc. and the buyers will purchase the amount required at various auctions. All colours, all breeds, as long as they're within the same size range. As that pen goes through the feeding process it will usually be sorted one or two times to pull off heavier animals and market them when they're ready instead of waiting for any smaller animals to catch up. When a pen is at the desired weight of 1400ish lbs they are sent to the slaughterhouse. Usually this is based on premade contracts for a certain number of head. The feedlot/cattle owner goes to the slaughterhouses and say they've got so many head that will be ready at this date, or the slaughterhouses come to the feedlots and say they need so many head at this date, and they work out the price. There's no scanning for tenderness, they take the entire pen.

The feedlots could be getting paid differently if they have cattle grading AAA vs A I suppose, I've never seen the breakdown for that. But most of the feedlot beef is graded high anyway. Producers don't get paid on tenderness or carcass potential when they sell calves at the auction though. If they have the more popular colour (black) or beef breeds then they'll usually make more than off colour of skinny types, but that's it. It's all visual judgement on the calf at the time it walks into the auction ring.

It's been my understanding and experience that to get well marbled meat you either need a disgusting layer of fat on the outside or an older animal that's had time to put the fat in the meat. Since we don't have time for aging it and it's an additional hurdle, especially for export, they take the fat layer on the carcasses, it's all trimmings anyway. It gets used.

Fair enough .
When Lee Leachman was over here he told a meeting I was at he was getting a premium for tenderness/ marbling, and he was actively breeding for it.
I don't know how that worked in practice, and it was of course USA not Canada.

 

[Blaithin]

Fair enough .
When Lee Leachman was over here he told a meeting I was at he was getting a premium for tenderness/ marbling, and he was actively breeding for it.
I don't know how that worked in practice, and it was of course USA not Canada.

There's a lot of programs on the go that producers can work towards. Each one is going to be a preference and the amount of them is probably slowing down the real take off of each of them.

Here you can be in the Verified Beef Program or there's Natural programs or Organic, Grass-fed, etc. All those marketing words seem to have their own programs. I'm sure it's similar in the States although they don't have the traceability programs we have so who knows... Some breeders are focusing on marbling, yep, I just don't know if it's anywhere near where we could say it's the commonplace practice yet. It's probably more of a Purebred goal for the breeders and something they could use to market their bulls. Commercial herds don't seem to be approaching it in many numbers yet.