The Rural Voice, 2005-01, Page 30and there was still Tess carcass weight
and smaller rib -eye area.
"These are some of the factors
you have to think about ie you want
to consider forage finishing,"
Mandell said.
Jn testing, Mandell's researchers
found forage fed was actually
more tender than grain -fed beef in
sheer testing (the amount of effort it
took to cut the beef) even though it
was fed for 60 days longer. A taste
panel also found the forage -fed beef
more tender. The panel found no
difference in juiciness.but did choose
the grain -fed beef for flavour and
found more off -flavour in the forage -
fed beef. "The reason is the high
amount of the Omega-3 fatty acids
and the oxidation of these acids."
"We found eating quality wasn't
really dramatically affected except
for that flavour," Mandell said.
In Great Britain researchers did
work with cattle on a high
concentrate diet, a 50-50 grass and
concentrate diet and a grass diet. The
research showed a marked increase in
Omega-3 fatty acid and CLA content
in the grass-fed beef compared to the
concentrate -fed beef while lowering
the saturate fat content and
improving the ratio of
polyunsaturated to saturated fat.
In the British study they found no
differences in the colouring or
brightness of red in the meat between
forage -fed and concentrate -fed beef.
That study also found no difference
in sheer, tenderness, juiciness or
flavour between the two meats.
A Colorado study compared a
traditional high corn diet with a high -
oil corn diet with pasture feeding.
The pasture -fed beef gained slower
and had lower carcass weights, lower
back -fat finish and a smaller rib -eye
area. In that test, marbling wasn't as
good in the pasture -fed beef and
quality grade was lower than in the
high grain beef.
"There's no doubt there are
inconsistencies across the studies on
the performance for forage -finishing
versus high -grain beef," Mandell
said.
The Colorado study was
consistent with the others in finding
markedly higher levels of CLA,
Omega-3 fatty acids and
polyunsaturated fatty acids in
pasture -fed beef. "So research has
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really demonstrated that we can make
a healthier product by going with
forage finishing," Mandell said.
Researchers have also looked at
breed differences in fatty acid
deposition. "It is well known there
are breed differences in fatty acid
deposition. The Wagyu breed tends
to naturally deposit more bio -
unsaturated fatty acids."
"The critical point coming from
this is that if you try to go to a certain
diet, the response you may get in
fatty acid deposition may depend on
the breed that you're feeding."
In a Welsh study comparing
Angus versus Holsteins on high
concentrate and grass diets, the
Angus actually had higher CLA on
concentrates though the rest of the
fatty acids for both breeds showed
higher levels of desirable fatty acids
if they had been forage -fed. The
Holsteins did a better job of
increasing ' the ratio of
polyunsaturated to saturated fatty
acids on forage feeding than the
Angus.
A Japanese study using more
mature cattle up to 41 months of age,
showed the same effects of forage
feeding as studies with younger
cattle.
A Quebec study showed a wide
range in the total amount of Omega-3
fatty acids in feed, from as low as six
per cent in alfalfa to 21 per cent in
rye grass. "So it's not just about
feeding forages, it's about looking at
the specific forage you're feeding,"
Mandell said.
The same Quebec researchers
showed there's a lot of
variation between varieties or
cultivars in the amount of Omega-3
fatty acids in the forage.
Forage feeding is the predominant
way beef is produced around the
world, Mandell said. Forage -fed beef
is condemned in North America
because of concerns about carcass
and eating quality and shelf -life.
"There are some valid concerns,"
Mandell said. "Marbling may be
compromised by forage -finishing.
But if you're looking at producing a
forage -finished product, you don't
necessarily think about marketing it
at a major packing plant. You want to
maybe take advantage of the smaller
abattoir and looking at a niche -type
market."0