Texas Tech Hosts Beef 706

LUBBOCK, TEXAS (April 8-10, 2008) - Texas Tech University's Department of Animal and Food Sciences hosted Beef 706, a hands-on seminar about beef quality excellence.

Beef 706 is a Beef Checkoff funded program available to beef cattle producers. Approximately 30 producers attended the two-day seminar to learn about beef quality and safety issues and how these issues impact their operation.

The class began with a carcass quality and yield grading lesson from professors and extension meat specialists. Producers learned how carcasses are evaluated for quality and yield grades by taking on the role of a USDA meat grader. The class transitioned from carcass grading to live animal evaluation where the producers applied their carcass grading knowledge to live cattle.

The group learned beef harvesting procedures by taking a virtual video tour of a large Texas packing plant. At this time, the participants focused on food safety and the role of meat inspectors. Anatomy was discussed before the participants actually fabricated carcasses within their groups.

In the second day of the seminar, a discussion and explanation of the factors that impact marbling and branded beef programs were given by professors. Participants also had the opportunity to participate in a consumer taste panel where they evaluated the eating appeal of a variety of beef products.

For more information about the next Beef 706 program, visit the Texas Beef Council's Web site at www.texasbeef.org.

Dr. Mark Miller explains some of the factors impacting the beef and meat industry today.

Dr. Davey Griffin, Extension Meat Specialist, discusses the cuts of meat and where they are located on the skeleton.

Participants begin the conference in a classroom setting.

Participants make grading projections on live cattle.

Mr. Ryan Rathmann discusses live animal evaluation traits with participants.

Graduate Student Clint Alexander assists participants in fabricating a beef carcass.

Graduate Student Adam Tittor discusses fabrication with participants.

Graduate Students Justin Derington and John Michael Mehaffey discuss the proper fabrication steps with participants.

Visit the Texas Beef Council's Web site for more information regarding Beef 706