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Lean beef from grass-fed cattle was analysed for fatty acid (FA) content to determine the between-animal variation and the effects of various traits on FA composition, and indices and FA ratios that have human health implications. In Experiment 1, samples were from three muscles from five bulls, five cows, and five heifers. In Experiment 2, samples were from the m. longissimus lumborum of 50 3 / 4 Jersey 1/ 4 Limousin and 50 3 / 4 Limousin 1/ 4 Jersey cattle, born over 2 years and sired by two bulls. The heifers and steers grazed on similar pastures until slaughter. In both experiments, after adjusting for differences in total FA content of the meat, there were large coefficients of variation (CV) for trans-vaccenic, cis-9 trans-11

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is widely used in grazing systems across the temperate world. Continued persistence of ryegrass pastures depends on our ability to further our understanding of the key traits or attributes responsible for improved plant performance. To this end, plant improvement is highly dependent on precise phenotyping capabilities. However, in‐field phenotyping is labor intensive, relies on experienced operators, and is often considered cost prohibitive. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of an image analysis tool developed to locate and estimate dry matter (DM) production of individual plants growing in the field. Fifty plants were used to develop the image analysis tool and another 1100 to determine its accuracy. Dry matter was measured by weighing oven‐dried harvested plant material and estimated both with the image analysis tool and by visual scoring. The image analysis tool was faster and estimates of plant area were more highly correlated with measured DM values, potentially capturing 25% more of the variation, than those from visual growth scores. The tool was able to effectively locate and distinguish between neighboring plants. The accuracy of the tool was greatest for production values below 15 g, and the tool would benefit from further development to improve accuracy above this threshold.

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