Impact of grass/forage feeding versus grain finishing on beef nutrients and sensory quality: The U.S. experience

Abstract

Studies of forage and/or grass feeding of cattle versus grain finishing have been conducted in varying regions throughout the world but generalization of these results to beef from U.S. cattle may not be appropriate. In particular, available grass/forage variety and form as well as cattle breed have a significant impact on the nutritional profile of beef. The current review summarizes the nutritional characteristics of beef as reported from the limited number of studies comparing U.S. grass/forage-fed versus grain-finished cattle and estimates the intake of key nutrients that might be expected from consumption of U.S. beef from either feeding system. In addition, many studies report changes in fatty acids solely as a percentage of total fatty acids. Since grass/forage feeding typically results in a leaner product; the current review compares the fatty acid profile of beef from grass/forage feeding to that of grain-finished cattle on a mg/100 g of meat basis.

Influence of feeding system (concentrate and total mixed ration) on fatty acid profiles of beef from three lean cattle breeds

“…The content of SFA expressed as mg/100 g fresh meat is also in accordance with the contents reported by Van Elswyk and McNeill (2014) for US beef from grass/forage-fed or grain-finished cattle, and Albertí et al (2014) in bulls of the Pirenaica breed. The feeding system was found to exert an influence on the total SFA content in all of the studied breeds (P 0.001), with total SFA content higher in young bulls fed under the TMR system, because of its higher content of 16:0 and 18:0 fatty acids.…”

Towards a regional beef carcass classification system for Southern Africa

“…Negative discrimination of carcasses based on yellow fat does not favour indigenous cattle. In fact, a positive discrimination of yellow fat should be promoted because beef from pasture-finished animals has many human health benefits (Scollan et al, 2014;Van Elswyk & McNeill, 2014). It is thus important to describe fat colour appropriately in future carcass classification systems.…”

“…However, consuming beef from grass-fed animals could reduce these risks as it contains human health beneficial fatty acids (e.g. vaccenic acid, rumenic acid, omega-3 fatty acids), β-carotene, and α-tocopherol in greater proportions than grain-fed beef (Daley et al, 2010;Van Elswyk & McNeill, 2014;Scollan et al, 2014). Until now, natural pasture finished animals have been imprecisely and non-verifiably identified in the current system through the presence of yellow fat and their market potential is not being realized.…”

Beneficial Effects of Temperate Forage Legumes that Contain Condensed Tannins

“…Alternatively, weaned calves that are never fed grain, antibiotics or hormones may be certified as grass-fed beef [55] and typically are slaughtered at 18 months to 24 months [56]. The longissimus intramuscular fat concentration of grass-finished beef is approximately half that of grain-finished beef [57].…”