The genetics of carcase and beef quality: take-home messages from the Beef CRC

Australian beef breeders are faced with the challenge of using vastly diverse production environments and systems to produce cattle that are both productive and profitable and beef products that satisfy consumer requirements. To do this, they need knowledge of genetic and non-genetic influences on beef production and quality. Reviews of the literature in the early-mid 1990s indicated that many traits associated with body composition of cattle, including meat yield and fatness, are under genetic control. Such control provides an ability to manipulate beef quantity through genetic means. However at that time, there were very few reports relating to the genetic influences on eating quality of beef, particularly with respect to consistency of tenderness and palatability.