The effect of feeding native warm season grasses in the stocker phase on the carcass quality, meat quality and sensory attributes of beef loin steaks from grain-finished cattle.
Increasing consumer interest in forage-fed/finished beef in the United States has led to several research investigations pertaining to the effect of forage quality on carcass characteristics, meat quality and sensorial acceptance.
In the southern United States, Bermudagrass is one of the most common warm-season grasses used to graze cattle because of its large biomass production and forage quality. This introduced grass provides few benefits to wildlife when compared with native warm-season grasses (NWSG), such as Indiangrass and Bluestem. NWSG are drought tolerant and provide superior wildlife habitat, but meat quality from cattle that graze on native forages is not well documented.