Honduran production systems and dietary impacts on carcass and harvest offal yields and value

Increasing world population has applied immense pressure on the global beef industry to generate more product efficiently with less waste. The need for increased food production leads to increased food security issues, encompassing a greater need for nutrients in the human diet, such as protein and iron. With a predominately lower income society, Honduras is in dire need of a larger and more efficient supply of protein. The purpose of this study was to study the possibility of increased red meat yield and carcass and subprimal value of a restricted product in Honduras: beef cattle. Honduran beef producers and faculty from Texas Tech University developed treatments by utilizing new diet constituents and local byproducts to improve efficiency and value of the beef animal. Five finishing programs were developed and selected which differ from the usual grass fed (GF) diet of cattle in Honduras. The additional dietary treatments used in this study were dried distillers grains (DDG), palm kernel meal (PKM), sugar cane (SC), soybean meal and corn (SBMC), and sorghum (SORG). Data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX procedure in SAS (version 9.3, SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) to a significance level of (P < 0.05). Bos indicus crossbred cattle were utilized, and harvest yield data (n = 240), carcass quality data (n = 230), and fabrication yield data (n = 142) were collected from each of the treatments. GF had the lowest values for CIELAB (Commision Internationale de I’Eclairage, L*, a*, b*) color values and pH (P < 0.01). GF possessed the oldest lean maturity, lowest marbling score, darkest colored lean, yellowest fat color, lowest muscle score and coarsest textured lean (P < 0.01). The SBMC treatment was the heaviest (P < 0.01) throughout all finishing programs, dominating in live weight (LW), hot carcass weight (HCW), cold carcass weight (CCW), and red meat yield (RMY). Additionally, SBMC was also the most valuable (P < 0.01) in terms of carcass value (CV) and total value at 1494.01 (US). Total profit was significant (P < 0.01) for all treatments, with SBMC the most profitable for the packer at 259.96 (US$). GF was lightest and least valuable throughout every observation (P < 0.01), excluding red meat yield percentage of CCW (%RMY/CCW). Evidence presented in this study leads us to the conclusion that GF treatment is the lowest yielding and therefore least valuable finishing program. The GF treatment was also the worst quality treatment. Additionally, the SBMC treatment was significantly heaviest and most valuable, being the most monetarily valuable to the packer. Overall there were (P < 0.01) differences in RMY for all treatments. However, there were no differences in %RMY/CCW (P = 0.17). With increases in energy and protein within the diet, there was a significant increase in weight, therefore an increase in RMY, CCW, and overall CV. Every formulated finishing program was considerably more valuable and higher yielding than GF, and would result in a superior monetary product for the producer, packer, and consumer. RMY was highly influenced by weight. Consequently, CV of the treatments was highly influenced by weight. Overall, any treatment compared to GF increased weight, therefore increasing monetary profit for the processor and producer.