Beef demo held in bid to make most of cattle
An interactive beef demonstration highlighting the value of the different cuts of meat from a beef carcase – both from a farmer’s and processors perspective – will offer producers a better understanding of how make the most from their cattle.
The demonstration, which takes place today in the main ring at Agriscot, has been organised by Quality Meat Scotland (Qms) and will invite audience participation through interactive voting pads at key points as the beef carcase moves through the supply chain from ‘field to fork’.
QMS director of industry development Douglas Bell said that the demonstration aims to raise awareness of the relationship between the management actions farmers take to finish cattle, and their impact on the rest of the supply chain:
“Beef farmers are under constant pressure from tightening margins due to the increased cost of inputs, so by paying particular attention to market specification, and understanding what the processor is asking of them, farmers can maximise their returns.”
Douglas Scott, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Association who will host the demo along with the SRUC’S Gavin Hill said that farmers were an integral part of the supply chain: “and through this demonstration, we hope to engage the farming audience where we as butchers and processors can maximise the return to the farmer. As a butcher, I’m looking for cattle that have plenty of length along the sirloin and across the kidneys as this is where the higher value sirloin and fillet cuts come from.”
Scott said that if cattle had too much of their weight in their shoulders, the carcases would have a higher proportion of meat that the butchers would have to sell as mince or stewing steak: “These are lower value cuts and when buying carcases, you want as many higher value cuts as possible.” The development of five new Estimated Breeding Values (EBVS) for traits which the market actually pays for will help beef farmers improve profits by producing more animals that meet target specification, it has been claimed.
SRUC has been working with AHDB to produce EBVS which cover: carcase weight (kg); carcase conformation; carcase fat class; slaughter age (days); average daily carcase gain (kg).
Alex Brown, AHDB Beef breeding projects manager, said the commercial value of the new EBV traits meant they would be useful to commercial as well as pedigree farmers. “Considering a sire’s carcase figures when selecting calves for rearing is an example of how commercial farmers could use them to purchase better-performing cattle.”