MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Canada’s grading system works against grass-finished beef, says a University of Alberta animal nutritionist.
“The grading system is based on marbling and unless we are able to change it, we cannot make pasturing a very viable alternative to the system we have right now,” Erasmus Okine told the recent western range science seminar in Medicine Hat Jan. 20.
“The industry really wants to increase the amount of Triple A that we have.”
A carcass downgraded to B1 is a major risk for those who choose pasture finishing. They don’t have any marbling, which means a heavy discount of as much as $242 each.
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Some studies have shown as many as 60 percent of a grass-fed group grade B1. Research has also found that better management can help upgrade them to A or better.
The lower grade in forage-fed animals likely occurs because they receive high levels of Vitamin A on pasture. This leads to the production of serum retinal, an enzyme involved in the synthesis of fat. The presence of this enzyme decreases marbling and subsequently results in a lower grade.
Okine said grass-fed beef may be a healthy alternative. It is often lean and contains a high level of conjugated linoleic acid, a fatty acid linked to reducing the risks of human heart disease and cancer.
On pasture, the CLA levels can go up to 14 milligrams per gram of fat. Some research has shown that feedlot animals that eat vegetable oil could retain some of the CLA levels when they go onto a grain diet in the feedlot. However, these animals never reach the same high CLA levels as grass-fed cattle.
Keeping animals on grass is cost effective.
“Pastures can do a very good job in terms of reduction in the unit cost of production,” Okine said.
It costs less than feeding animals in a feedlot and weight gains are not dramatically different between the two systems.
The traditional feeding system dictates 102 days on pasture followed by 121 feedlot days.
An extended system keeps cattle on grass for 148 days and 118 days in the feedlot. About 80 percent of the animals in the study achieved the AAA grade on the extended system.
Okine said adjusting feeding regimens according to frame size is important.
Small-framed animals may leave the pasture when they reach 370-375 kilograms and enter a short-term feedlot program to achieve a better grade.
Large framed steers can stay on grass until they weigh 485 kg. They may then start on a concentrate such as barley to reach their proper finishing weight and desired quality grade.
