Carcass and meat quality of Africander and Jersey crossbred steers

Author: R.T. Naudé and R Boccard
Year: 1973
Issue: 2
Volume: 3
Page: 95 - 100

Africander cows were inseminated with the semen of Limousine and Normande bulls and Jersey cows with that of bulls of the above two breeds as well as with Charolais semen. The male castrate progeny were compared in a fattening experiment. Criteria studied were growth, carcass and meat quality. Live masses of approximately 460 kg were attained at about 16 months. The carcass and meat quality of all groups were very similar. Certain economic factors such as dressing percentage, carcass conformation, general fatness and amount of waste fat in the carcass were however better in Africander crossbred steers. The meat quality parameters: tenderness, cooking loss, collagen quality and muscle colour were not significantly different between the five types of steers. The Jersey compares favourably with the Africander in a crossbreeding programme for beef production purposes.

Keywords:
Read article