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September 12, 2025

Animal performance, beef lipid profile, and beef quality of finishing crossbred steers (Hereford x Angus) grazing two contrasting pastures

Key Points

Steers grazing red clover exhibited higher live weight gain compared to those on tall fescue, suggesting better pasture management.
Animals on red clover pastures received higher marbling and flavor scores, implying superior beef quality.
Both grazing groups had low cholesterol and saturated fat levels, leading to classification as extra lean beef.
A similar fatty acid profile was observed from beef across both pastures, highlighting consistency in nutritional content.

Abstract

Pastoral systems provide the basis for sustainable systems in southern Chile, which is the cheapest source of nutrients for cattle and receives a better perception by consumers. However, there is a great variability in animal performance and beef quality. This study aimed to assess animal performance, as well as fatty acid profile and beef quality from steers grazing grassland of mainly grass or legume species as a main source of feed. Steers were allocated into two grazing groups, either tall fescue (TF) or red clover (RC). For 97 days, steers on the RC pasture showed a higher LWG than the TF steers (p<0.05) and had higher marbling and flavor scores than those on the TF pasture (p<0.05). Both groups showed soft meat with low WBSF values (2.6 for both groups) and high sensorial tenderness (over 6 in the 1 to 7 scale). Due to the low levels of cholesterol and saturated fat, both were classified as extra lean. Likewise, a similar beef lipid profile was observed in beef from both pastures. Developing finishing strategies on pastoral-based systems is crucial to improving production characteristics, such as growth, without compromising the nutritive value of beef.

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