Already the model can tell producers whether their feed resources are appropriate for cattle breeds that tend to produce less fat. Cattle with genetic leanness are not for every producer, Dunn points out, because thinner cattle may have curtailed reproduction. Not to worry, he adds, because sizable markets exists for both the leanest of beef and beef well marbled with fat. Beef that's most popular with consumers has both marbling with tiny fat flecks characteristic of British breeds and the leanness characteristic of Continental European breeds, says Larry V. Cundiff. Projects are in progress at Clay Center and Miles City to assess other advantages and disadvantages of alternative mating systems using various breeds.
Meat can be quite lean, yet tender.
Research led by MARC animal physiologist Mohammad Koohmaraie has shown marbling accounts for only about 10 percent of variation in tenderness among steaks. He and MARC food technologists Steven D. Shackelford and Tommy L. Wheeler have developed a way to help meat processors quickly identify carcasses most certain to yield beef cuts that are both lean and palatable. Beef tenderness or toughness is controlled about 70 percent by environment and 30 percent by genetics. Click here to see this issue's table of contents.