2004 Annual Report for LNC02-216
Conjugated Linoleic Acid Content of Beef Finished with Pasture
Summary
Four cattle feeding regimes; pasture, pasture with grain supplement, pasture with grain supplement containing soyoil, and a feedlot diet; were compared to determine the CLA content of meat. Soyoil diet produced the highest level of CLA compared to the other three feeding regimes on a mg/g sample basis. Total CLA was higher in the soyoil diet when expressed as mg/g fat in both raw and cooked analyses. Pasture inclusion produced higher levels of total CLA than the feedlot diet for cooked samples on a mg/g fat basis. Pasture inclusion was able to increase CLA content of beef, in the cooked state, while maintaining acceptable eating quality.
Objectives/Performance Targets
- 1. Determine and compare the CLA content of pasture finished beef in the raw and cooked states.
2. Determine the effects of different grain supplementation regimes on CLA content of beef.
3. Determine the economic feasibility of pasture-finished beef for a niche market.
4. Develop educational materials for producers about the management tools and economics involved with increasing the CLA content of beef through pasture finishing.
Accomplishments/Milestones
Objective 1: CLA content of meat was decreased in the cooked state compared to the raw state – indicating that data for cooked meat should be used when determining human diets.
Objective 2: Soyoil diet produced the highest level (P < .05) of CLA compared to the other three feeding regimes on a mg/g sample basis. Total CLA was higher (P < .05) in the soyoil diet when expressed as mg/g fat in both raw and cooked analyses. Pasture inclusion produced higher levels (P < .05) of total CLA than the feedlot diet for cooked samples when expressed as mg/g fat. Objective 3: A panel of consumers were fed cooked beef samples and data on preferences and willingness-to-pay was collected. Cost of production data is being combined with this information to compute potential profitability for producers. Objective 4: This objective is to be accomplished in the third year of the project and is dependent on the analysis of the data collected in years one and two.
Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes
Two abstracts from this data were presented in 2004; one at the Midwest Animal Science Meetings in March 2004 and one at the Reciprocal Meat Conference in June 2004. A manuscript from this data was submitted to the Journal of Animal Science. This will contribute to the scientific knowledge of the effects of feeding regime on CLA content in meat.