Aug. 19, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
For more
information contact:
Miranda Reiman,
Certified Angus Beef Industry Information specialist, 308-784-2294 or mreiman@certifiedangusbeef.com
Calm
Down, Lighten Up
Cattlemen can
help prevent dark cutters.
In most
situations, things go better when everyone remains calm. ThatÕs true for
cattle, too, including those about to enter the food chain.
Excited cattle
can become Òdark cutters,Ó lowering profit potential and causing beef demand
challenges, says David OÕDiam, brand extension manager for Certified Angus Beef
LLC (CAB).
As an animal is
harvested its body draws on stored reserves of energy (sugar) to create lactic
acid in the muscles, he explains. That slight decline in alkalinity (decrease
in pH) sets up the meat to react with oxygen to show the bright, cherry-red
color beef consumers are accustomed to.
But stress prior
to harvest depletes the energy reserve. Without time to recharge, meat from the
animal will be unable to form enough lactic acid to decrease the pH level. The
sustained higher pH level allows meat to hold more water, OÕDiam says.
ÒItÕs like
cardboard,Ó he says. ÒAs it gets wet it turns a different, darker color.Ó Hence, it becomes a dark cutter and
that makes it ineligible for the Certified Angus Beef ¨ (CAB¨) brand.
The causes of a
dark cutter depend as much on the animal as on the conditions surrounding
it. ÒDifferent people react to
different things, and itÕs the same with cattle,Ó OÕDiam says.
ÒAnimals that are
timid or afraid tend to stress more easily,Ó says Jeff Savell, animal scientist
at Texas A&M University.
Incidence of dark
cutters only average about 1%, so it can be difficult to make measureable
change as an industry, OÕDiam says. However, producers can employ strategies to
lower the risk, especially if their cattle have greater than average issues.
Animals should be
healthy, well cared for and handled as calmly as possible, says Phil Bass, a
meat scientist and executive account manager for CAB.
ÒMake sure they
have plenty of feed and water a couple of days before they are shipped to
increase the sugar stores in their muscles,Ó he says. ÒYou can take preventive
measures and select for calmer animals, too.Ó
The Angus breed offers
a selection tool in the form of an expected progeny difference (EPD) rating for
docility. Including that EPD in selection can help reduce the incidence of dark
cutters, Bass says.
Data from the
Iowa Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity indicate that calm cattle returned
$39.01 more per head than aggressive herd mates. The rate of CAB brand
acceptance more than doubled for the docile group, earning them more carcass
premiums.
On the other
hand, discounts for dark cutting carcasses can amount to $30 per hundredweight
because consumers are unwilling to purchase the off-color meat. Stores rarely
even place it on the counter, OÕDiam says.
Produces can
influence handling, feeding and breeding, but there is at least one stressor
they have no control over.
ÒWeather changes
can frequently account for increases in dark cutters,Ó Savell says. ÒIn Texas,
we see more dark cutters in October because of the weather.Ó
Dark cutters are
hard to avoid altogether, he says: ÒThere is no sure-fire method for preventing
them.Ó
Still, it makes
sense to focus on what can be controlled. ÒAs producers work to improve on
this, the same management should help ensure higher quality grades and a better
end product,Ó Savell concludes.
That leads to
improved consumer demand, something worth getting excited about.
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