Beef producers take pride in raising their animals in a safe and healthy environment. The health of their animals directly impacts the quality of beef that they produce. Healthy, stress free cattle are the key to safe, quality beef for everyone.
The United States has a Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program to train ranchers and farmers on best practices for managing cattle. The program focuses on cattle care, herd health, record keeping, and more so they can raise better beef, and consumers can feel good buying it. In fact, over 85% of beef comes from BQA certified ranchers and farmers.
What exactly is beef quality? Quality is determined by a number of variables, like color, tenderness, and flavor. It is how safe and delicious the end product is for consumers. A big part of the beef quality is determined by the animal’s well-being during its stay on the feedlot.
Cattle stress on the feedlot can lower the quality of beef. Cattle who are constantly in distress produce lower quality meat than the cattle who are comfortable in their pens. Feedlot operators have a commitment to providing a safe and comfortable environment for their cattle. They work to ensure each animal has enough food and water and that it is available at consistent times each day. Part of that comes from stocking the pens properly so that there is enough room for each animal to access the feed bunk and water bowl when they need. Not only will stress impact the beef quality, but it can also lead to illness and injury.
Disease and injury are also common contributors to lower quality meat. Every day, feedlot workers roam through each pen to find sick and injured cattle and get them the care they need. Respiratory diseases are among the most common ailments on the feedlot. Cattle who are impacted by it generally have a lower beef quality scoring in the end. Similarly, cattle injuries can result in bruised meat. In both cases, weight gain is often slowed, resulting in an extended time on the feedlot or an undesirable finishing weight.
This is where HerdWhistle comes into play. HerdWhistle is an agtech system for 24/7 whole herd digital monitoring of health and well-being. The system helps feedlot operators manage their herd so they can reduce the stress across all of their cattle. It is able to detect signs of illness, days before symptoms become visual to help lower the rate of disease within the herd.
Consumers expect and receive high-quality protein from responsible caretakers. HerdWhistle works with feedlot operators to ensure the highest level of monitoring and care goes into raising the cattle, resulting in quality beef for your dinner plate.
