Comparative production of lean meat from Friesian bulls and steers over a range of nutritional planes at pasture

The growth rate and carcase characteristics of Friesian bulls and steers were compared when the animals were fed solely on pasture from 8 to 18 months of age. The animals were set stocked at rates ranging from 3.0 to 6.0 animals ha-1, so that average growth rates of the steers ranged from 0.87 to 0.57 kg d-1. All were slaughtered at 18 months of age for the manufacturing meat trade. For each additional animal per hectare the average daily liveweight gain of both bulls and steers was reduced by 0.1 0 kg d-1. However, at all stocking rates bulls maintained a 0.06 kg d-1 advantage over the steers. These results do not support the suggestion that as the plane of nutrition increases, so does the advantage in growth rate of the bulls over that of the steers. Seasonal liveweight gains of the two sex types and the effect of stocking rate on these are discussed. For each 0.1 0 kg d-1 increase in steer liveweight gain carcase weight per animal increased by 19 kg and the bulls produced 25 kg more carcase weight than the steers. As the plane of nutrition increased, the percentage of saleable meat produced by the steers was constant (66.2%) while that of the bulls increased (68.7%-72.3%). This trend was reversed for the percentage of fat trimmed out of the carcases. The fat trim of the bulls was 3.6% while that of the steers increased from 6.4% to 8.9%. Over the entire range of nutrition levels, bulls were superior to steers in all attributes considered necessary for the manufacturing trade. However, under Australian conditions, seemingly unjustifiable penalty rates for slaughtering and, to a lesser extent, farmer prejudice, severely restrict the use of young grazing bulls for lean meat production.