Blueprint for Success in Beef Production: Hitting Target Specifications

1. As a Producer,How Do I Hit that Target? Twig Marston Extension Beef Specialist K-State Research & Extension

2. To Hit a Target (Complete a Project) You Need a Blueprint

3. “Ideal” Carcass Specifications • Hot Carcass Weight 700 to 800 lb • External fat 0.3” to 0.4” • Loin Eye Area 12.0 to 14.0 sq. in. • Marbling Small 00 minimum – Modest 00 preferred • Genetically “Guaranteed Tender”

4. Goals Set for 2005 from National Beef Quality Audit - 2000 • Eliminate USDA Standard grade carcasses. • Eliminate Yield Grade 4’s and 5’s. • Eliminate side-branded hides. • Accompany all seedstock animals with meaningful genetic data for production and end-product traits. • Continually improve the eating quality of beef.

5. Defining Quality • Consumer – Affordable, lean, tasty, and tender • Retailer – Trim, tasty, uniform in size and tender • Packer – Finished cattle of the proper weight, quality grade and yield • Feeder – “Good Doing” cattle w/ growth potential, the right weight, quality and yield • Producer – Genetically correct cattle, efficient in reproduction, growth, and adequate marbling

6. Producers’ Tool Box • Genetics • Nutrition • Management • Advertisement/Education

7. Heritability Estimates • Fat thickness 0.19 • Marbling Score 0.68 • WBSF 0.40 • Taste Sensory Panel • Tenderness 0.37 • Juiciness 0.46 • Flavor 0.07 Dikeman et al., submitted

8. Marbling, Favor, Juiciness, and Tenderness • Breed composition • Diet energy concentration • Length of the finishing phase

9. Breed Differences Exist Black is not a Carcass Gene, It is a Dominant Coat Color Gene.

10. Why Do We Need Marbling? • Flavor • Insurance for Ignorance in Cooking

11. Marbling(Producers’ Insurance Policy) • About a 10% linear increase in consumer acceptance for each full marble score between Slight and Slightly Abundant. • WBSF between 6.6 and 12.1 correlated to a steep decline in predicted acceptance. Platter et al., 2003 CSU

12. USDA Grade and Endpoint Temperature Obuz et al., 2004, KSU

13. Relationship between Cow Production & Carcass Traits Weight Height Condition Score HCWt 0.81 0.69 0.23 Retail Prod. -0.05 0.03 -0.12 LMA 0.34 0.32 0.24 Marbling -0.15 -0.17 -0.03 WBSF 0.15 0.22 0.08 Nephawe et al., 2004 MARC

14. A positive correlation exists between Marbling and Milk EPDs. Marston , 2004

15. Tenderness • Injection Site (up to 6” of injection) • Castration • Over Aggressive Implant Programs

16. Beef Palatability & Genetics Breed/Sire WBSF Marbling Simmental -0.90 to +0.79 -0.22 to +0.48 Shorthorn -0.90 to +0.79 -0.42 to 0.00 Herefords -0.1.06 to +0..44 -0.16 to +0.47 WBSF and Marbling: Lowly correlated –0.19 Carcass Merit Traits Project

17. DNA Marker Assisted Selection • Eating Quality Test • Disease Resistance • Marker–Assisted Expected Progeny Differences • Global Efforts – Australia, Brazil, Canada • Calpain (good guy) propagate and • Calpastatin (bad guy) eliminate

19. Nutrition • Grain vs. Grass-fed vs. Forage-fed • Weaning Age/Young Age Positive Energy Balance • Propionate vs. Acetate VFA Rumen Production • Creep feeding

20. Management • Implant and Implant Programs • Feed Additives (Beta agonists) • Calf vs. Aged Cattle Feeding • Days on Feed

21. Effects of Days Fed May et al., OSU

22. Sickness Robs Quality Grade

23. Treating for Sickness Can Influence Quality Grade No. of treatments 0 1 2 or more No. calves 5,490 574 540 Quality score 6.45 6.65* 6.87** Prime, % 1.86 1.05 0.93 Prem. Choice, % 27.1* 24.28*† 18.7† Total Choice, % 70.7 62.9 58.0 Standard, % 2.6 5.9 10.6 Busby et al., 2004 ISU

24. Promotion, Development, and Education

25. Using the Tools in the BoxMeasure Twice – Cut Once

26. Three Paradigms of Beef Producers • Cattle Producer • Labor user, task-driven, no effective use of information • Red Meat Producer • Record keeper, cost efficient, focused on red meat • Food Producer • Complex, targeting product characteristics which are multi-dimensional and directly related to known tastes and preferences of consumers

27. The Future of the Paradigms • Cattle Producer – will be around because of the love and romance of the business, will stay in business if not over leveraged. • Red Meat Producer – will survive with the commodity side of the business. • Food Producer – will be rewarded by those that know the value of quality. Driven by the cost and quality controlled production of food made from beef.

28. Quality Thoughts • We can now make more mistakes faster than ever before. • Those who refuse to use data will make greater and more frequent mistakes. • Those who refuse to make data will be compensated with a smaller piece of the pie. • Those who control the data control the destiny of the industry.