Niche marketing | Capitalize on the healthy environment and health benefits of beef raised on grass, says researcher
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Thousands of cattle graze British Columbia’s mountain meadows and produce a unique beef that could be marketed like fine wine, say researchers at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.
Research into the benefits of alpine forages and grass-fed beef could help save a provincial industry that produces fewer cattle every year.
The Okanagan wine industry has flourished by offering a unique regional product, and researchers see possibilities for beef labelled the same way.
“How the grapes are nourished is important, so this is the same as how the cows are nourished,” said re-searcher Bruno Cinel.
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“We know as humans our diet is important, so what about the diet of the stuff that we are eating?”
Funding from the B.C. Ranching Task Force and Western Economic Diversification have helped buy specialized equipment that analyzes feed, beef and other food products at the molecular level.
Researchers are using the equipment to search for good fatty acids such as conjugated linoleic acid, omega 3 and 6 and vitamins such as the K group.
Most beef is sold as a generic product, but the rising cost of inputs could result in grass-fed production offering a special niche with added health benefits.
Thompson Rivers University is a smaller institution, where researchers from different disciplines have the advantage of being clustered together in one building. They are able to collaborate and have the added advantage of a trade school component, where culinary arts students train as chefs or learn meat cutting and retail meat processing. This translates into a farm to fork component that researchers want to develop.
Several projects with a regional basis have produced new information with practical applications for the future.
Undergrad student Ivan Hartling looked at a suckler beef program from Mitchell Cattle Co. in the North Thompson Valley. Mitchell’s Mountain Beef supplies beef to the Kamloops market that is derived from cattle raised in alpine meadows at elevations of 7,000 feet. Some of the beef is from calves less than a year old.
“Suckler beef is from cows that have calved early and then they go up the mountain,” Hartling said.
“They go with their mothers and they are not weaned, ever.”
The program uses Simmental cows that produce plenty of milk for nursing calves. The calves supplement their diet with forage.
Hartling’s project compared Mitchell’s beef to conventional beef and found it was just as tender as grain fed animals. The young animals had less collagen and cross fibre links that make beef tough.
The calves consistently graded AAA and had a mild flavour. Further analysis showed the grass diet resulted in higher than normal levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and omega 3 fatty acid.
Another project looked at cheeses and the potential for added nutrients when dairy cows are kept on grass.
The research team bought gouda, mozzarella, feta and cheddar from six retailers and tested them for nutrients. A gouda cheese produced at Salmon Arm, B.C., from cattle on a grass program had the highest level of CLA. Conventional and organic cheeses were not found to be statistically different from one another.
Ongoing work is also examining beef bought from Alberta and B.C. stores, including organic, grass fed, conventionally raised and natural beef.
“We believe the fatty acids and the nutritional composition of naturally raised and certified organic is different from conventional beef,” said researcher John Church.
Organic beef production may require 60 percent forage in cattle diets, while feedlots feed mostly grain. Organic producers are also likely to use less grain because it is expensive and harder to find.
“Because of what they are forced to feed to get that certified organic labelling, you are also probably going to see a nutritional benefit,” said Cinel.
Other projects are looking at fatty acids in feed and forages.
Feed samples are dried, ground and liquefied in a special solution. No more than a spoonful goes into a test tube to examine feed quality at the most basic level.
The assumption is that feeding forages that are higher in beneficial nutrients should result in a change in good fatty acids.
Some of the feed studies could also change the way forages are tested in the future.
The university uses an MRI unit to assess feed samples that are liquefied in a tube not much bigger than a drinking straw. Up to 60 samples can go into the machine, which can do quick analysis and determine a sample’s chemical structure.
