The primary purpose of producing beef cattle is to convert grass, forages, and various
byproducts, plus human-edible protein and energy, into highly nutritious and tasty
beef. To accomplish this, (1) cattle enterprises must be profitable; (2) carcasses should
yield a high percentage of meat; (3) beef should be safe, affordable, attractive, nutritious,
and highly palatable; and (4) both production and processing systems must be
socially and environmentally responsible. The U.S. population has doubled since 1952,
but the number of cows in the U.S. is the lowest since the 1950s. At the same time, a
rather dramatic increase in beef production has occurred because of improved genetics,
management, and technology. Yet, too many cattle breeders and/or breed associations
have failed to realize improvements in meat yield, marbling, and palatability through
genetic selection for these traits. Consequently, a significant proportion of cattle are
fed to excessive fatness with long feeding periods to attain Choice or Prime marbling.
Waste fat production is very costly to the industry. An extensive review, evaluation,
and interpretation of research literature, technical bulletins, trade articles, and industry
trends demonstrates a path forward through improved genetics, improved management,
and optimum use of technology to improve production efficiency, meat yield,
and meat quality of cattle.
