QUALITY BEEF SHOULD BE LONG TERM AIM

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32303, 22 May 1970, Page 8

QUALITY BEEF SHOULD BE LONG TERM AIM

In the view of Dr R. A. Long, an American who is an international authority on modern beef development, the goal of the New Zealand beef cattle industry in the long term should be the efficient production of high-quality beef.

Dr Long, who is director of research and development for the Ankony Angus Corporation, which is based on Rheinbeck, New York, said he did not know whether the development of an industry based on the production of manufacturing beef, which this country sent to the United States at this time, was sound business. In America they were trying to change the sort of cattle produced for the market so that they did not have any excess fat and which were like the 10 per cent of the cattle at the top of the scale. When that objective was reached there would be no demand for the manufacturing type of beef from countries like New Zealand. But if the objective was to produce high-quality beef then all producers could compete in world markets with a desirable product, and with growing affluence in the world, Dr Long said, he thought that everyone was agreed that the future of the world market for beef was excellent. There was no doubt that beef would be in competition with synthetic meats like those based on soya beans, but it was likely to be a long time before that industry would be competitive.

Dr Long said that he had seen careases of beef in New Zealand that were quite desirable. He did not think that there was any reason why New Zealand should not grow beef from grass, as it had better pastures than anywhere else in the world, but it might be found desirable to produce more grain in favourable areas and to fatten cattle there, leaving more room on the hills for the cows —this . Could be a means of raising cattle numbers. But Dr Long who holds the degrees of doctor of philosophy and master of science from Oklahoma State University and was chairman of the animal sciences division of Georgia State University from 1957 to 1968, said that he was not in New Zealand to tell people what they should do, but rather to tell them what they were doing in the United States in case it should be of use to them.

It was his view that carcases should contain high quality meat that was tender, juicy, full of flavour, and with some marbling—that was some flecking of fat within the meat—and certainly with no more than a half inch of fat cover on the outside and a minimum of waste.

A carcase without some fat was, however, undesirable, said Dr Long. Not only did beef without some fat not eat well, but the layer of fat on the outside protected the product like a wrapper against moulds and bacteria and was a factor in relation to shrinkage in storage and transport. Payment should be for the type of beef produced. Stud or purebred cattle producers, he said, had a responsibility to provide the industry with cattle able to do the job efficiently. This meant the selection of breeding stock on weight gain or growth rate and the composition of that gain—whether it was lean or fat.

To this end it was necessary to keep records and make accurate measurements of their reproductive efficiency, weaning weight, growth rate and finally carcase quality or cutability—a term to describe the edible portion. The Ankony Angus Corporation, with which Dr Long is associated, while based on Rheinbeck, New York, also has properties in Montana, South Dakota, lowa, Texas and Virginia where breeding of stud bulls for ranches is done on beef improvement principles. It seemed that their bulls were raised on a level of nutrition rather different from that in New Zealand, said Dr Long. They did not use nurse cows but after weaning they gave the young animals a full feed of grain. Their top bulls, he said, weighed 12001 b at a year old, and there was a large group which averaged 10001 b at that age. They had, he felt, a strain of cattle that was at the top of the Angus breed and he had not seen any figures to show that he was wrong in this.

They also had a bull that had been compared in progeny tests with top Charolais bulls where they had been bred with Angus cows, and in spite of the advantage of hybrid vigour that the Charolais had in this case the Angus had produced greater growth rate, and greater cutability and quality in his steer progeny. A problem with the Charolais in the United States was that the beef did not have the marbling for quality standards, and the crossing with the Angus went only a part of the way to correct this situation. However, Dr Long said, he did feel that the Charolais were fast growing cattle with a minimum of waste at present slaughter weights. However he noted that if it was necessary to feed a 16001 b cow, compared with a 1100 or 12001 b or lighter one, the heavier cow had to rear a much bigger and heavier calf to be on an equal basis. Dairy beef also had difficulty in meeting grading

standards in the United States, he said. While quite a lot of commotion was made when such beef came up to, say, choice grade, a very desirable grade, only about 1 per cent was in this category. Of New Zealand cattie he had seen. Dr Long said, he had been impressed with the females for their soundness of structure, femininity and uniformity. They also apparently did a great job on the hills. Dr Long was invited to New Zealand by the Royal Agricultural Society to attend the recent Land and Industry Exhibition at Wanganui, where he was guest speaker at a symposium on improving the productivity of beef cattle and also '-onducted a beef clinic. He spoke at a field day in Timaru this week and will make a similar appearance in the Waikato next week. His travelling expenses to and from this country are being met by Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd.