Grass-forage and concentrate beef: production and quality attributes

Grass-based production systems offer an economic advantage for Irish beef farms. There is renewed interest in 100 % grass-fed beef, which is perceived as being more ‘sustainable’ by consumers.

However, there is little research information on rearing and finishing progeny from the suckler beef herd on grass-forage diets solely.

Peter Doyle, Mark McGee, Aidan Moloney, Alan Kelly and Edward O’Riordan

Grass-based production systems offer an economic advantage for Irish beef farms. In the coming years, beef production systems face key challenges such as the need to increase food production in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner, to ensure that the products produced meet the highest standards of quality and nutritional value for increasingly discerning consumers and in doing so hopefully obtaining a premium price for the producer.

There is renewed interest in 100% grass-fed beef, which is perceived as being more ‘sustainable’ by consumers and is suggested to have a more positive impact on human health compared to concentrate fed beef, due to a more favourable fatty acid profile, including a higher concentration of omega – 3 poly unsaturated fatty acids in muscle lipids. These 100 % grass-based products are becoming increasingly popular across Europe and are associated with premiums and market differentiation and could facilitate the marketing of a unique Irish brand. However, there is little research information on rearing and finishing progeny from the suckler beef herd on grass-forage diets solely (without concentrates). Furthermore, there is little research on key methods to increase steer live weight gain and stocking rate at pasture without the use of concentrates. Hence, the aim of this study is to:

• Produce beef within a system of production where lifetime diets are based on forage only (grazed pasture and grass silage)
• Compare animal and grass growth, and overall output from different grazing systems
• To compare the nutritional and sensory quality of ‘grass-fed beef’ vs. ‘concentrate fed beef’

This study is on-going at Teagasc Grange.