The Animal Biology

Innovative technology of obtaining organic marble beef

V. S. Kozyr

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State Institution “The Institute of Grain Crops NAAS”,
14 V. Vernadsky str., Dnipro, 49009, Ukraine

The aim was to develop an innovative technology for obtaining high-quality organic marble beef. In the experimental farm “Polyvanivka” of the Institute of Grain Crops NAAS the cultivation of bulls of the gray Ukrainian breed up to 30 months of age has been organized using fodder which is traditional for steppe zone of Ukraine. The work has been performed according to the research program of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine no. 37 “System of work in populations and conservation of biological diversity of genetic resources of farm animals” (“Preservation of breed gene pool”). The expediency of organic production of high-quality marble beef obtained in the steppe zone of Ukraine from gray Ukrainian cattle has been proven. This breed has such economically useful features as the duration of production use, longevity, high growth energy (stable average daily gain over 1 kg), and the conversion of diet into products (feed consumption is 70–80 MJ per 1 kg of growth) correlating with the age of the animal, slaughter rates (>60%, meat content is >4 kg per 1 kg of bones, hard skin is >30 kg which belongs to the category of bull production). We have found that it is necessary to determine the cattle fatness not by subcutaneous fat which has no dietary value, but by the beef marbling as a sign of its quality which takes into account the presence of intramuscular and intermuscular fat including unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A and D, as well as the amount of protein and moisture and taste and culinary features of the carcass flesh, such as tenderness, juiciness and aroma. This meets the requirements of the consumer. The proposals based on the results of research on technological changes in animal husbandry promote the development of meat cattle breeding and are of great economic importance for strengthening the health of the population and food safety in Ukraine.

Key words: breed, bulls, age, growth energy, live weight, slaughter rates, beef, organic products, muscle, adipose tissue, marble meat, quality

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