Effect of beef cattle temperament on carcass and meat quality

• Grant number: 13/20036-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2014
• Effective date (End): September 15, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Ecology of Domestic Animals and Ethology
• Principal Investigator: Mateus José Rodrigues Paranhos da Costa
• Grantee: Aline Cristina Sant'Anna
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of temperament on carcass and meat quality in Nellore beef cattle. The specific aim is to identify, among several measures of temperament, the most associated with parameters of carcass and meat quality, seeking a temperament indicator that could predict the susceptibility of a given animal to have future defects of carcass / meat. The evaluations will be performed in, at least, 500 animals (males and females) raised on pasture and finished on feedlot, owned by two commercial herds (Agropecuária Jacarezinho® and Grupo Bom Futuro®). The temperament assessment will be carried out using the following indicators: I) score of movement inside the cattle crush, in scale of 1 to 5; II) crush score, 1 to 4; III) flight speed (in m/s) and; IV) temperament score, scoring as 1, 2, 4, or 5. The indicators of carcass quality will be: I) carcass weight; II) subcutaneous fat cover (distribution and thickness); III) rib-eye area and; IV) bruises on carcass. The measures of meat quality will be done in the M. Longissimus dorsi, between the 12th and the 13th ribs, using the following parameters: I) pH; II) intramuscular fat; III) color; IV) shear force and; V) cooking loss. The data will be analyzed through multivariate methods, applying the Principal Component Analysis, which enable to assess the degree of association among variables of temperament, carcass and meat quality. The effect of temperament on carcass and meat quality will be estimated using analysis of variance, with mixed models.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SANT'ANNA, ALINE CRISTINA; VALENTE, TIAGO DA SILVA; BRAGA MAGALHAES, ANA FABRICIA; ESPIGOLAN, RAFAEL; CEBALLOS, MARIA CAMILA; DE ALBUQUERQUE, LUCIA GALVAO; RODRIGUES PARANHOS DA COSTA, MATEUS JOSE. Relationships between temperament, meat quality, and carcass traits in Nellore cattle. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE, v. 97, n. 12, p. 4721-4731, DEC 2019. (09/16118-5, 13/20036-0)