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ROCKHAMPTON,
Australia, August 12, 2003, just-food.com:
Researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial
Research Organization's Rendel Laboratory in Rockhampton
say they have found a relationship between good cattle
temperament, improved productivity levels and overall
meat quality.
By showing that cattle with poorer temperaments have
comparatively lower average daily weight gains and reduced
carcass weights the research suggests that beef producers
can increase the quality of their meat if they selectively
breed cattle with good temperaments.
The research was conducted by CSIRO Livestock Industries
(CLI) and the Co-operative Research Center for Beef
and Cattle Quality (Beef CRC).
Project Leader, Dr Heather Burrow said that to improve
performance and meat quality - particularly in intensive
production situations - 'bad-temperament' cattle should
be replaced with 'good-temperament' cattle.
"Poor temperament lowers cattle profitability through
increased production costs - for example, mustering,
maintaining cattle handling facilities and the increased
risk of injury to the cattle and their handlers,"
Burrow said.
"To be able to select cattle with 'good' temperaments,
producers and feedlot operators need to be able apply
a set of proven criteria to help them distinguish between
the cattle they want and those they don't," she
continued.
There are various tests that can be carried out to assess
the temperament of cattle, she said, adding that the
best way to improve the temperament of beef cattle is
to select good-temperament breeding stock.
The most commonly used cattle temperament tests are
the 'crush-score' and 'flight-time' methods.
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