PSV-1 - A comparison of Holstein-cross cattle and beef-cross cattle in terms of performance and carcass quality

Abstract: Crossbreeding Holstein cows to beef sires has increased in popularity as a means to increase marketability of the dairy offspring. A large portion of these dairy-cross animals are offspring of Holstein cows and Angus bulls. The objective of this study was to evaluate the carcass quality of 3 crossbred beef steers (Hereford x Angus) and 3 dairy x beef cross steers (Holstein x Angus). These animals had been a part of a previous study evaluating the additive effect of implanting strategy combined with inclusion of a beta-agonist and represent the three different treatments evaluated on that study with one dairy-cross and one beef-cross animal coming from each treatment. All steers were fed a mixed ration consisting of 30.0% rye silage, 28.0% DDGS, 30.0% rolled corn, 10.5% soybean meal, and 1.5% mineral supplement (22.0% CP, 2.90 Mcal ME/kg DM). Animals were fed daily at 0700 and 1700 and weighed weekly at 0630. For the duration of the trial, animals were housed in drylot pens with ad libitum access to feed and water and had shade structures in each pen. Following a 15-day adaptation period, feed intake was recorded for 45 days. Data were analyzed as a completely random design in SAS v9.4. The animals were evaluated in terms of growth and performance, carcass quality, and feed efficiency. There was no difference in intake for either treatment, however, beef-cross steers gained significantly more than their dairy-cross counterpart on the same diet. After the intake portion of the study was completed, all six chosen animals were slaughtered and evaluated for carcass quality. Following 14 days aging, samples from the ribeye area were collected from each animal and subjected to sensory analysis and other assessments of quality. Other than a numerical difference in marbling score between treatments, there were no statistical differences in meat quality between the two crosses indicating that dairy-cross animals are an important addition to the beef industry.